Birthdate Dilemmas
by LadyHood
Summary: [Chapter 15 now up] The quest for Beast Boy's survival continues as he comes across a clan of creatures that aren't meant to be together fighting...
1. Dates and Numbers

Chapter 1: Dates and Numbers...

'_Ben Drake, Born April 20th, 1986. Notes: Parents were Lisa and John Drake, married on October 15th. Ben (noted by teacher) was a very smart kid, always top of his class. He never did anything wrong, and always helped others. Sadly only 18 years of age, before... End of Notes Died: January 16th, 2005, Jump City.'_

Robin sighed. He had been through a lot with a career as a superhero, but nothing like this had ever slipped under his nose. A death in his own city. He knew that the media were going to start pestering his actions with his team. Why had you not known of this? Why did you not stop it? Hard times were coming soon, Robin was smart enough to know that. Placing Ben's records down, he picked up another one, and looked in surprise.

'_Katie Bell, Born April 20th, 1987. Notes: Parents were Davis and Annalee Bell, married on September 15th. Katie (noted by teacher) She was always helpful and kind. Never did anything bad or disgraceful. I don't know why this would happen to her... End of Notes Died: Febuary 16th, 2004, Jump City.'_

Gaping at the records, he rushed to find young Mr. Drake's records once more. There was only one similarity, besides dying and being a very helpful student. The _birth date._ He couldn't grasp what it meant, but he didn't wish to bear this information alone. He thought of his team members. Definitely not Starfire, as she would be heartbroken at the news of _a death_, not Beast Boy, as he would only goof around like he always does. That left Raven and Cyborg. Cyborg would most likely just say it was just a coincidence that they both had the same birthday. So that left one person. Raven. Robin had no clue what her reaction would be when he told her of the troubles he wrought, but as she was a co-founder of the team, and the most trustworthy, he thought she would be sensible enough. Thrusting his chair backwards and standing up, Robin left his room to see the dark titan.

Robin knew that Raven would either be in the main room or her bedroom at this hour (it was three in the afternoon, a beautiful Sunday) so he went to the main room first. Looking in he only found Cyborg and Beast Boy playing the gamestation, nothing out of the ordinary. He sighed and left. The automatic doors whizzed shut, but the duo was too entranced with the game to notice. Robin walked towards the elevator, and pressed the 6th floor button, where Beast Boy's and Raven's quarters were situated. The elevator ding sounded and the doors opened, to reveal his redheaded friend Starfire. Lately they had gotten a lot closer together than ever before, and Robin was going to ask her out shortly. She giggled in delight and pounced upon the boy wonder, knocking him to the floor.

"Good Afternoon Friend Robin!" Starfire exclaimed, hugging Robin furiously. Robin gasped for air, but Starfire's hair covered up his face, so Starfire didn't hear him. Noticing this, Robin tried desperately to say something.

"Star...Fire...Can't...Breathe..." He managed. Starfire got off of Robin and blushed.

"I am sorry Friend Robin, I could not, as you say, control myself from... jumping on you." She apologized, her eyes full of sorrow. Robin laughed and finally got off the floor.

"It's okay Star, don't worry about it." They both smiled at each other, and then it hit Robin why he was going this way in the first place. Starfire floated beside him, looking at him with questioning eyes at his confusion.

"Friend Robin, do you need, the company?" She asked sweetly. Robin still stared into space, beyond Starfire and at the elevator.

"Sorry Star, but right now I need to talk to Raven." He replied, pressing the 6th floor button once more as the elevator had left a while ago. Starfire looked at the button pressed and surpressed a laugh.

"Friend Raven is on the roof, Friend Robin. She is on the roof everyday at this time of day." Starfire told him. Robin just looked at her. Had he been locked up in his room and alone for so long, that he had forgotten that? Starfire returned the glare.

"Thanks Starfire." Robin said calmly. He gave her a nod of appreciation and stepped into the confined space. He turned to face Starfire as the doors closed. They both gave each other a warm smile before the doors slammed shut. Robin sighed. Starfire looked at the doors for a moment and flew away, tears welling up in her cheeks.

On Top of the Tower...

The soft ding went off again as the elevator finally reached its destination. Robin stepped out cautiously, as the sunlight was blinding his eyes. Finally adjusted to the light, Robin looked about the violet haired maiden. Not seeing her, he sighed and tried to listen for anything. The wind sighed gently, and a soft voice reached his ears.

"Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos... Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos..." It said. Coming from the east, Robin turned and looked at the city once more. She wasn't there, so where was she? He dared to look up at the defying sun's rays to catch a glimpse of a small shape floating right above him. He took his chance and yelled,

"Raven! Can you come down here please? It's really important." Hearing his voice Raven stopped meditating in surprise, and began to fall down towards the earth, plunging at a fast rate. Robin shook his head, breaking her concentration was a bad thing. Only twenty feet away from impact, and still falling. Raven's eyes suddenly turned a blazing white and her dive bomb plunge slowed down. She softly landed on the tough structure of the tower and gave Robin a clear look of disdain, as she didn't like to be disturbed during this time. However, as he was her leader, she beared her instinct away at yelling at him angrily and just gave him a calm look.

"Yes, Robin? This better be important for interrupting my meditation." Raven said monotonously. A great gust of wind billowed from the west, and the dark blue cloak which wrapped around Raven flashed upwards in a dangerous fashion. Her hood slid off to reveal her full face, instead of just the violet eyes. Her chakra glinted in the sunlight.

"It's very important, and I think you of all members will most understand this." Robin stated, and pulled out a few pieces of paper and gave it to her. Raven looked at the records, and gave him a look that Robin thought may look like anxiety, but knowing Raven, it probably wasn't.

"They were all born on the same birthday..." Raven murmured. Robin felt high hopes. He came to the right person.

"April 20th.. Hmm... It must be linked to the same criminal. Coincidences like this just don't happen." Raven announced. Robin shook his head in agreement.

"Should we tell the others?" Robin asked, clearly not knowing what to say or do.

"I say you should. There's a pattern here. People born on the same day, just one year apart. We have to research who has this birthday, and make sure that none of us titans have this birthday." Raven answered. She handed the papers back and gave a deep sigh. "I'll get Starfire, you get the boys off that useless device which rots their brains." And she left him standing there, his cape rising and falling with the breeze.

Later, in the Main Room...

Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy waited patiently for the girls arrival. None of them knew that Starfire had gone to 'the mall of shopping' so they could only wondered what took Raven and Starfire so long. A dark vortex appeared on the floor in front of them. It warped upwards in a bird shape, and gave a great caw before settling down and revealing the two female titans. Starfire was blushing and Raven stumbled back slightly. The mall was a great distance away, and both getting there and returning really did a number on Raven. She barely made it to the couch before falling down, landing on the soft cushions hard. The male titans just raised their eyebrows. Raven's eyes turned white and another black shadow appeared. Bags upon bags of shopping appeared in front of Starfire, who squealed in delight. They figured out where Starfire had gone, and gave a small laugh. Raven closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Starfire suddenly became concerned.

"What is wrong, Friend Raven? You have never acted this way when we go and return from the mall of shopping using your powers as transportation." Raven just gave a deep sigh.

"I have things on my mind. Also, you've never had so much bags as heavy as that before." Raven replied. Robin went over and decided to test one of the bags. He couldn't even lift it. His muscles buckled and he fell over. Cyborg and Beast Boy roared with laughter and went to help their leader. Starfire sat down next to Raven and asked the obvious,

"So... What is so.. important that Raven had to take me away from those fuzzy bears?" Robin's face turned from embarrassed to dead serious. Everyone noticed the change, even Raven though she had her eyes closed. The energy patterns in the room had shattered, and reformed in assignment matters which they all knew very well. Robin walked over to the wide windows that overlooked the city and turned to face his team. Cyborg had taken their assigned places, Starfire was looking at him almost fearfully, and Raven still had her eyes closed. She already knew what this meeting was about, so Robin continued without her eyes staring at him with their emotionless glare.

"After looking at records of a few people, Raven and I have come to realize this. First, they had all died in Jump City right under our very noses. Second, all these people were very intelligent and helpful, and young. And lastly, they all had the same birthday." He started off, looking to see his teammates reactions. Cyborg looked interested, Starfire looked confused, and Beast Boy gave a 'so what' expression. He didn't even bother to look at Raven, as it was pointless to do so. She had her hood up and her eyes were closed. He continued.

" Now, Raven has come up with a really good theory which may explain part of this... tragedy. She says that all the deaths are linked, most likely murdered by the same person. A pattern has revealed itself. Their birthdays are the same, just a year apart. Now I want to know, what are your birthdays? I know our society of justice papers tell us not to reveal much about ourselves, but I need to know so I can figure out who's the next victim. I am not the target, as my birthday is July 12th." A long pause followed the speech. Finally, a person spoke up.

"Well Dudes, My birthday is December 12th, so no worries for me." Beast Boy stated proudly.

"My birthday is May 17th, and besides, I'm older than 1989." Cyborg answered. The boys looked at the two girls.

"Friends, I do not fully understand the day of birth, but I am a Virgo of the year... star complex nine." Starfire managed, thinking before fully speaking. The team made out that Starfire was born in September, and as she always seemed to bounce around happily on the 10th, that was her day. Finally all eyes rested upon Raven, who still hadn't moved.

"My birthday," Raven said cautiously, "is the 20th of April."

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: So how is it so far? I hope you liked this chapter, if it was kinda boring I'm sorry, but intro chapters usually blow for me. Well, that's what I think. Please Review!


	2. Discoveries

Chapter 2: Discoveries

The team stared wide eyed at Raven after her comment. Perhaps she was born earlier than the expected year? Maybe she was just being sarcastic with them? Raven finished her sentence.

"April 20th, 1989." It all hit them hard. Robin realized that the look of anxiety earlier really was true, and Raven had already known of this. Beast Boy, not liking the silence, tried to cheer up the team.

"We're the Teen Titans dudes! We can protect Raven easily, as we have superpowers, smarts, and a really good defensive system in our Tower! Come on guys, cheer up!" Starfire gleamed with happiness at Beast Boy's words.

"Beast Boy is right! Raven will be safe with our company!" She exclaimed. Cyborg and Robin agreed, relieved at the team's mood. Raven remained silent, until she could not bear it anymore.

"No. That will not be enough. This murderer has slipped under our sight before, many times, he most likely will do so again." She said, with a small hint of sadness. The happy relief vanished as soon as it came, and all became silent once more. They all looked at Raven with depressed expressions, not even trying to lighten the mood as they knew it wouldn't work. A flash of red appeared in Raven's eyes, and it quickly disappeared.

"I have to go." She said hastily. All made a move to stop her but she just melted through the floor.

"Friend Robin," Starfire started, "will Friend Raven be alright?"

"I don't know Star. I really don't know." He replied, looking down where Raven stood not so long ago.

In the Darkness of her room...

Raven began an intense meditation, trying to hold herself at bay. Emotions worked against her, trying to see the light of day and let all grip on her powers let loose. Raven strained hard and sweat beaded across her face. She continued to chant without any delay, not even when several knocks on the door echoed through her somber room. Finally a yell brought her attention, and disrupted her chain of Azarath Metrion Zinthos'. The door opened to reveal the four other members of the team, each looking very worried. She gave a look of pure confusement. Cyborg explained.

"Your powers were seeping through the entire tower! Are you alright Rae?" She still floated above her bed, looking at them with dangerous glinting eyes. Suddenly, she fell and fainted on the widespread. They all rushed over to her and Cyborg scanned Raven, and gave a small gasp of surprise at the charts and graphs. The other 3 looked over to his armpiece and their mouths dropped. Raven's power level had increased way beyond 200, and the evidence of fighting showed as it would dramaticly increase or lower intensely.

"You dudes think that this may be apart of the murderer's plan?" Beast Boy asked warily.

"Don't know. But I highly hope not, or Raven will not be with us anymore." Robin replied. They watched Raven a few minutes more and left her to her unconsious state, discussing their next plan of action.

Meanwhile, in some hidden cave... somewhere

"Almighty Trigon! I command you to rise! Wreak distruction in your path, and break loose her grip." A cold hard voice bellowed, the dark shadow standing in a circle of candles. The fire danced about, flickered, and died. A smirk appeared at the mysterious figure's lips.

"The plan is in action, and they will pay for her death, my lovely daughter..." The shadow shrunk in size as it fell on it's knees. A quick flash of light from the thunder outside revealed the lone man's face, shrouded in despair and revenge.

It had not been a long time ago when they had taken her away from him. Sarah Joy, the most wonderful and brightest of them all, had died, on April 20th. On her grave he sworn an oath to kill any in Jump City that had that day of birth, and he couldn't wait to take down his next target. He gave a heave of exhaustion from his last action and the shadows veiled him from view once more. Only time would tell...

A Few Hours Later...

Raven awoke gasping for air. She had fought her emotion Anger back tooth and nail until finally got her back into the holding cell far beneath the soils of her mind. After accomplishing that, Raven had a strange vision of a young girl screaming. She had blonde hair, and hazel brown eyes. Notes had flashed across her mind, revealing who the young maiden was. One thing stuck out of all the others.

_Sarah Joy, Died April 20th, 1999, Jump City._ This was either another victim of the killer or she was reason of all these deaths. The murderer wanted revenge, and was willing to kill anyone with that birthdate to acheive it. Raven slid off her bed and attempted to stand. Her legs were wobbly, she had to use her bed as support. She would never be able to leave her room under this condition, unless she used her powers. Raven, not wanting to be handicapped, chanted her three magic words and floated off towards Robin's room. Upon reaching the door she wondered if he was even there. But it was worth trying, as she had teleported through three floors to get to him. She knocked on his door quietly, but just enough to be heard. A small grunt came from the other side, and the door opened to reveal a tired Robin. His shoulders and eyes were drooping, but he brightened instantly at the sight of Raven.

"Thank goodness you're better. We'd all been very worried about you." Robin gave her a funny look, then laughed. "What better time to recover than two in the morning!" Raven suddenly felt really bad, because she had willingly knocked on his door without knowing what the time was. But he didn't seem to care, and allowed her in the darkened room. Newspaper clippings plastered the wall, and a desk sat nearby covered in papers. A small laptop also sat on top. Raven wondered if he just slept in his chair, as no bed seemed to be in view.

"So Raven, you wanted to see me?" He asked, grabbing the chair to allow her to sit down. She gratefully did so, as her energy was just about spent.

"Yes. I want to research with you about a girl under the name of Sarah Joy." Raven replied calmly. Robin raised the left side of his mask.

"Sarah Joy, why..." Raven cut him off midsentence.

"She died on April 20th, 1999. I believe she has something to do with this." The two bird-named titans stared at each other, both in curiosity and anxiety. Robin agreed with a nod of his head and began to type for records of Sarah Joy. Sure enough, only one match with the information Robin put in came up.

_Sarah Joy, Born: September 18th, 1983 Notes: Sarah's parents were Clatie Joy and George Joy, married on April 20th. (noted by teacher) The brightest of them all. Intelligent and willing, she answers only when required to. She always helped other students with their homework, when suddenly she stopped coming to school... End of Notes Died: April 20th, 1999._

"My belief on revenge is getting clearer to me, Robin. I think that either Clatie or George is the murderer. The chances of Clatie though are slim, so George is our best bet." Raven stated. Robin nodded, and bookmarked the document. He then typed in some information and hit enter, coming up with 1,999,863 matches. Robin sweatdropped at the number. Raven concentrated and chanted her magic words. Black energy enveloped the computer, until it was lost somewhere inside it. Robin just watched with interest.

"Check page 27, number 300." Raven said calmly, and exerted her energy back from the computer into her soul self. Her legs still seemed very numb, and she knew that at some point she would have to tell him of her current condition. But that could wait. Robin clicked on the link and George Joy's records came into view.

_George Joy, Born December 12th, 1957, Notes: Husband of the late Clatie Joy and Father of the late Sarah Joy. Married April 20th, Harrogate, England. Last Occupation known: Author and Actor, current location: Unknown (Noted by last Director, Stephen Jones) Always hard at work and and determined to get things right the first time. Best Actor for leading Role I say. If anything happened which made his life shattered, I figure he would kill with vegence..._

Raven and Robin looked at Stephen's Jones last words. '_Kill with vegence...' _He was definitely the right guy. Robin looked over at Raven, who seemed hypotized by George's description.

"Raven, I think you should go back to sleep. We'll discuss this later in the morning." He lent out his hand to her, which she took. He pulled her up and let go, expecting she'd be fine on her own. However, she just flopped over and fell back on the chair.

"I can't really move, Robin..." She whispered, all strength leaving her. Robin gave a look of worry but reset it with determination.

"Don't worry Raven, I'll get you there." He picked up her fragile body gently and held her in his arms. He gave her a reassuring smile before she slipped back into unconsiousness. Robin took the elevator to the 6th floor and walked into her room, placed her on the bed carefully, tucked her in, and slipped out, murmuring a small goodnight before heading back to his quarters. All of them slept peacefully that night, waiting for the coming day.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note:

Wow, I think that was even worse than the first chapter. Than again, this is one of my better pieces of work, so I shouldn't complain. Thank you for the reviews guys, it inspired me to write another chapter. I hope this meets your expectations! :-)


	3. Off Track

Answers to Reviews:

Bloodyrose666- My birthday is actually September 10th (Which I made Starfire's birthday, hehehe) I didn't know it was Hitler's birthday. Wow. I just chose it because it was my friend's b-day (lol)

CrazyDeafGirl- You're sister's birthday is April 20th? This is getting weirder and weirder. Don't worry, I don't know your sister, so she won't die... Wow, the end of your review sounds awfully familiar.. Yup, I remember it :)

I don't know- Everyone's sisters seem to have this birthday. Wow, that really is ironic.

Taiba- Thank you!!! :-)

Queen-of-Azarath- Don't worry about that, Queen-of-Azarath. I hadn't forgotten Robin was going to ask her out. I just didn't want Raven sleeping on his floor. Especially after he just cleaned it... (j/k!!!)

darkaurora333- lol, congratulations, you accomplished something! Actually, I'm almost happy at anything... OMG not the plastic spork! lol

Thank you for all the Wonderful reviews!

Chapter 3: Off Track

The dawn of the new day finally came, and it was as beautiful as the last. The birds chirped happily as the sun's warm rays lay upon them, fluttering by the busy city of Jump. People returned to work, as the weekend was over. And now was the time for five peaceful teens to get back to work...

Raven was the first to awaken by the loud ringing of the alarm. The tower enveloped in red as the alarm screamed throughout it's structure. Raven tested her strength once more, and was pleased to find that the results were perfectly normal. She summoned her cloak from the nearby closet and rushed towards the main room to hear the report. Robin stood near the computer console, while the others already stood waiting for her. She always wondered how Beast Boy made it before her even though she can teleport through floors and he only had the elevator. But she wasn't going to be the one to ask that.

"Titans, you aren't going to believe this..." Robin murmured, looking at his team. His face gleamed with anger. Cyborg looked over the leader's shoulder and looked at the information of the villain.

"It can't be..." Cyborg whispered, giving a stressed look at the others.

"Well, what is it?" Beast Boy asked impatiently.

"Slade." Was the answer. Time seemed to stop, and the titans looked at each other, all except Raven with a look of despair.

"But didn't the mad man fall into the lava of hot?" Starfire questioned. Raven, though also surprised of Slade's sudden reappearance, actually was happy Slade had shown up. Now they wouldn't worry about her and her birthday. A nice thought indeed, but she was terribly wrong.

"We must make sure Raven is within our group, not on the outside." Robin stated, looking directly at her. All the others agreed.

"I'll guard her, just in case." Beast Boy said, giving Raven a small smile. Raven blinked at him. He better not be getting any ideas.. Robin nodded his head in approval and yelled his favorite phrase,

"Titans, Go!" Before running out the door.

At the Docks...

The titans looked at the location beaconed by a citizen of Jump City. Where was he? Where was Slade? Robin's communicator started to play their theme song. He opened it to reveal the one man he hated, who was thought dead for months.

"Hello again, Robin." Slade's cold voice greeted, causing chills to go down all the titan's spines. "I see you still haven't caught the murderer." Robin's eyes lowered and his mouth turned into a threatening scowl.

"Where is he, Slade? Where is George?" Robin questioned, shaking the device a little bit.

"Why now, I don't even know who he is. I've just been looking at his... records." Slade replied. "But I wouldn't be worrying about him if I were you." Slade's masked face disappeared, and silence covered the titans like a shield. Finally, Beast Boy broke the quiet tension.

"Dudes, that can't be good." He told them, looking about for any sign of anything. Nothing stirred, only the water lapping against the wooden ports could be heard. Suddenly, a soft humming sound entered their ears. It grew steadily louder.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven yelled, just in time. She produced a dark bubble and used it to shield all the titans as a bomb was thrust upon them. Raven took the main impact but it was enough to make her bubble evaporate. She fell backwards and Beast Boy caught her. She rubbed her head, gave Beast Boy a little nod, and stood up again. An army of slade-bots surrounded the titans, each armed with rocket launchers and laser guns. Robin mentally kicked himself, as he didn't bring his technology bomb that he had used last time. A large fight ensued.

Starfire and Raven took to the air, Starfire thrusting starbolts and Raven throwing projectiles at the robots below. Cyborg rode Beast Boy and fired his sonic cannon, as Beast Boy rampaged through a group of them as a Rhino. Robin used his bo-staff as his weapon of choice, smashing heads off as he went. Starfire and Raven nodded at each other and summed up their energies. At once both shot a large beam of black and green together, having it fuse and destroy the remainder of the army that struck against them. Both floated down and landed beside Robin, who ended up receiving another big hug from a happy Starfire. Beast Boy and Cyborg walked up, both claiming to be the one who destroyed the most. They began a large argument over it, and Robin decided to take action.

"Neither of you did! It was Starfire and Raven, who used that nice little combo trick. Good work, Titans!" Starfire squealed with pleasure at Robin's compliment and Raven groaned. The team could be so stupid sometimes.

"That can't be all..." She murmured. The other four looked up at her with confused faces. "Sure, that was a large cut of Slade's budget, but even he is more ruthless than that." They all knew that as well as anyone. Raven was about to say something when she struck by a terrible image, of a young girl screaming and a gun pointing at her head. Raven grimaced and placed her hand over her chakra.

"We have to go... Now!" And she enveloped them all in her dark energy, disappearing into the ground.

Some Random Place in Jump City... 

A brown-haired girl happily watered the flowers in their house, making sure that had enough sunlight shining upon them. She went over and got a glass of water herself, downing it within seconds. Her parents were out having lunch, all homework was completed, so she could spend the rest of her free day however she wanted. She rushed up the stairs and ran into her room. She immediately jumped on the bed and sprawled across it with joy. A book lay next to her right hand, so she grabbed it and started to read. It was called, "_The Merlin Conspiracy"._ The girl snickered at the random thoughts that entered her head. Like any of that could happen. Raining monkeys, singing stones, a ring of the doorbell which had a killer on the other side... Wait, was that really the doorbell?

She slid down the stair railing bar and began to unlock the door, expecting it to be her friend. She opened it and gave out her best smile, squinting her eyes so she couldn't see.

"Hi!" She exclaimed joyfully, and decided to open her eyes. Her mouth quivered and she gave a small whimper as a dark clothed man forced her back into the hallway. He closed the door and threw the girl onto the living room couch, and drew out a gun. He rested it on her forehead, and she began to scream. He pull the trigger halfway before it was knocked away from the girl's face by a red birdarang. The man looked behind him and found no one there. He turned back towards where the girl was supposed to be, but she had long gone. He gave a small smirk as a dark vortex appeared before him. He crouched in a ready position, ready to duke it out against his opponent. The Teen Titans appeared before him, each with a look of pure determination. He laughed.

"About time you showed up! Didn't know how else to get you out of that tower of yours. Now say goodnight, dark princess." He pulled out another gun from inside his trench coat, and took a shot at Raven, who floated above with Starfire. None of them were prepared for the instant assault, as Robin always lectured with the villain before the fighting began. The bullet whizzed across the room and landed a hit on Raven, who fell backwards as a result. Starfire screamed and launched a volley of starbolts at the dark villain, but he merely deflected them and disappeared. The three boys looked at the empty spot in confusion. How could he get away, when he was just a powerless human? They turned around to face the music, as Starfire was sobbing quite hard.

"Star..Fire... I'm okay... He just hit me, nothing to worry about..." an exasperated voice murmured. The boys watched the scene, taking a look at the surroundings. Most of the furniture was covered in blood, as the bullet had hit its mark. Raven's left side of her cloak was bloodstained, hiding the inflicted wound. Raven gave a few gasps for air and passed out. Starfire began to cry uncontrollably , her tears pelting on Raven's cloak. Robin rushed to comfort her, and Cyborg and Beast Boy decided to look at the hidden wound. Cyborg slowly pulled away the blue fabric and the mess finally revealed itself. Beast Boy gasped in alarm and turned away. Blood flowed freely from the hole on Raven's left side of her body, and her arm also spewed out because she had tried to defend herself with it. Cyborg closed his one real eye and a small tear fell down his cheek. When he opened it again, to his surprise, half the blood had disappeared, and the hole had vanished. He gave a smile. Raven was healing herself. She wouldn't let herself die that easily.

"Rae's gonna be alright, ya'all. She's one smart gal." Cyborg stated, picking up Raven and looking at his teammates. Beast Boy looked like he had a hissy fit, because his green skin was blushed on his face, and Robin and Starfire? Well, Robin could only think of one way to stop Starfire from crying her eyes out. The kiss method. The effect worked instantly and Starfire felt comforted, and loved. Robin felt joy and love as well. They seemed to have forgotten the short drama that had happened only a few minutes ago. Beast Boy and Cyborg rolled their eyes and let the two lovebirds be. They walked out of the girl's house (no one knew where the girl was) and took off into the night sky, with Beast Boy as a pterodactyl carrying the two other titans.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: Off Track was definitely an appropriate title for this chapter, as I had no idea what to write and the topic does sway a bit. Anyways, I hope this chapter wasn't that big of a disappointment (it sounded good when I wrote it) and you know the rest. Please Review! (Muhahahhahahahaha....)

I just realized that I use the name George a lot in my stories... Well, in The Trebbles he's the game show announcer guy, and now he's a bad dude. Before you know it he'll be producer of NBC news! (Not funny, I know) Well, my mom's dad was George and he was a producer of NBC news... Oh, forget it, Nevermind.

Hurray, it's the weekend! I'm coming down with the flu, as I have like 5 of the 6 symptoms. I hate sore throats... Sorry if I don't update as fast as I have been, but schoolwork and my health are kinda in the way. Yayness for me, another chapter done! Goodnight All! :)


	4. Safe For Now

Yay, some reviews! I was so sad today that I didn't get one, so I stopped writing this for a bit... And I came back, and three were there! Woohoo!

**darkaurora333- **Eyeshadow? You make me laugh hard everytime you review. I hardly laugh at anything, so you can definitely accomplish something. Sorry about the Trebbles, it kinda got hard to write... I think you're still on the chair of honor, from the last time I've checked :)

**CrazyDeafGirl- **Truthfully I was going to make Sarah's eyes blue, but I thought it would sound like Terra. So I made them brown (My brother's color, interestingly enough) I read chapter 24 and reviewed, you'll probably get it later... Or now even, depends on what feels like doing. I have a feeling we could be internet friends here... ;)

**mew-xena- **The answer will be in this chapter, and it's going to be pretty simple to find out...

Yes, Star/Rob are definitely a pair, but I'm not entirely sure about BB/Raven, but BB can flirt with her all he wants (lol) Now here's the next chappy, enjoy. (Warning: Love is in the Air! Oh no! lol)

Chapter 4: Safe.. For Now

It had been a few hours after the dilemma, and Raven rested in one of the few infirmary beds in the heart of the tower. Beast Boy had placed himself on a seat nearby the floating telepath, ensuring her health would be okay. Beast Boy had always been in love with her, but his fear of being rejected was so great he never even tried to ask her out. Robin hadn't asked Starfire out yet, but due to his recent action, Beast Boy even doubted he had to. They had come back shortly after the three titans arrival, Star blushing and Robin aggitated that the team didn't try to stop him. Not that he could blame them...

Everyone knew Beast Boy loved Raven, except the dark titan herself. It wasn't that obvious until the past few hours, when he spoke soothing words to her though she couldn't even hear them. Deep in his thoughts, Beast Boy didn't even notice someone enter the room.

"Beast Boy... I think you should go to bed, she'll be here in the morning." Robin said, walking towards his green skinned friend. Beast Boy didn't even turn to look at the boy wonder, his eyes were focused on their patient.

"I want to be here, Robin. To make sure she'll be okay." He responded, quietly. Robin knew BB blamed himself for the swift accident, lovers always do. He rested a reassuring green glove on Beast Boy's slumped shoulder. (He's reassuring everyone lately, isn't he?) Beast Boy was about to obey Robin's last order, when Raven started to twitch. Her face scrunched up in pain, feeling the damage dealt from earlier. Raven gave a quick gasp and bolted upwards, using her hand to cover her face. The boys just gaped at her sudden recovery.

"Ugh... Where am I?" Raven whispered, her gaze at the two unfocused.

"You're in the tower," Robin started, but was cut off by Beast Boy.

"Raven... Are you okay?" His concerned voice caught her attention. The haze cleared up and Raven stared at two depressed boys. As soon as she gave a small smile, however, both lightened up.

"I'm fine." was her short answer. She made a move to get up but her legs refused to respond. She gave them a glare of defiance.

"Need help Rae?" Beast Boy asked, offering out his hand. Raven accepted it, and he pulled her up gently. Beast Boy took her weight and helped walk her out the room, heading to the main room with her. Robin had long been forgotten, as he had mysteriously disappeared...

After a Long labor of getting Raven to the Main Room...

Beast Boy set Raven down on the couch, in the place she always sat. He smiled and walked over to the counters behind the sofa, and began to whistle a cheerful tune. Beast Boy looked at one of the shelves, and smiled. Good old Robin to do something like that for him! Beast Boy grabbed the steaming cup and walked over with it to Raven, and lowered it down to her. Raven's face was covered in a mask of surprise. Why was he being so kind to her? She then remembered what he had said earlier, and gave another small smile. She may actually consider him, but not yet. Raven gave a soft blow at the hot liquid and took a sip. Pleasurable tastes filled up her mouth, and she sipped more. Herbal tea was always a good thing.

"Thank you, Beast Boy," Raven whispered, giving him a soft glare. Her gratitude towards him gave Beast Boy the butterflies. He merely nodded and went to get himself something to drink, and sat down beside her with a glass of juice. They sat together in silence for awhile, enjoying the silence, but also nervous of what to say to the other. Beast Boy opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. Raven noticed the hesitation in his eyes. What could be bothering him that much? Raven finally understood.

"Yes, Beast Boy." She answered the unspoken question. Beast Boy looked at her.

"You mean it?" Beast Boy asked in disbelief. Raven nodded positive. He burst out into a wide grin, knowing that he had just gotten himself a girlfriend.

"Beast Boy?" Raven asked quietly.

"Yes, Raven?" Beast Boy replied.

"Could you help me to my room? I can't really get there on my own..." she whispered. Beast Boy did the manly thing and scooped her into his arms. She held onto his neck. Beast Boy was shocked how affectionate she could really be when she wanted to be. He repeated the steps of what Robin had done the day before, and gave her a small goodnight kiss. It was just a small peck on the cheek, but to the two of them, it was much more than that.

"Thank you... Beast Boy..." Raven murmured. Beast Boy blushed and began to walk out of the room.

"Goodnight Rae, see you later." He said, stepping through the hole where the door had opened.

"Goodnight... Beast Boy." She replied, and fell into a deep sleep. Beast Boy gave a small whoop in his head and watched the automatic doors close. His own imaginary cheerleader team yelled,

"Go Beast Boy! Go Beast Boy! Yay!" As he did a jig. After a few minutes of celebration exhaustion struck him like a stone and he decided it was time to sleep. It was easy enough to say he had a very good night.

A Few Hours Later...

Robin sighed, leaning back on his chair, staring at the blinding screen before him. He selected all bookmarks and brought them up, rereading the information over and over again. Raven would be safe inside the tower, as George didn't know she survived. Or did he? Robin looked at George's records again, and frowned. Something wasn't right here, he just couldn't figure out what. He was about to shut down his computer when a few soft knocks bounced off his door. He rushed to get it, and allowed it to open automaticly. He smiled at the person at the other side.

"Oh, Friend Robin! I have many things I wish to discuss! I am so worried of friend Raven! I am..." Starfire ranted on, until Robin put a finger to her lips.

"Starfire... Will you go out with me?" He asked, his voice almost shaking... a bit. Starfire flushed instantly at his question.

"I accept your asking, Friend Robin." Starfire answered, and gave him another hug. Both were perfectly content on how their relationship was turning out, and was definitely sure it wasn't going to end anytime soon. Robin was about to ask Starfire to let go as he couldn't breathe, as she was squeezing too hard, but it wasn't required. The alarm went off, startling the red head who grabbed Robin by the wrist and flew off towards the main room.

In The Main Room...

Starfire aimed at the big doors at full speed, expecting it to open automaticly. But today just wasn't her day, and just in time she thrust a wide-eyed Robin in front of her. He took full impact upon hitting the door. His figure outlined a huge dent on the frame, revealing his plain look of terror. As Robin fell to the ground, Starfire apologizing constantly, the doors slowly slid open and revealed a blushing Cyborg.

"Heheheh, Sorry guys. I was making some proper adjustments, and didn't get it on time." Cyborg tensed up, as he knew Robin would probably blow off his rocker because of that. However, Robin just shook it off and gave a terrified look at Starfire, who was smiling innocently. Cyborg raised his eyebrow.

"Don't ask." Robin said grumpily, and headed back to the computer console where the screen was flashing red. Raven and Beast Boy were already there, just watching in stunned amusement at Robin's and Starfire's actions towards each other. They both had heard the loud crash of the impact, and saw Robin make the large imprint on the door. Beast Boy wouldn't admit that he had laughed his head off. Raven just gave a rare chuckle at the scene. Robin pressed a button, and the latest villain's information came up on screen.

"Just Johnny Rancid being the normal jerk he is..." Robin sighed. The titans looked at Raven, and she returned the stares.

"Raven, you must sit out these next few fights. You need to rest, and we don't want George to know yet that he had failed." Cyborg told her. Raven made no move to argue with those orders, her stomach had been in pain and she intended to rest in the first place. The titans rushed out the door, and Beast Boy gave her a cheerful wave before departing. Raven closed her eyes, and imagined a fight against Johnny Rancid. He was an easy opponent. Raven saw her latest book on the far counter and summoned it with her energy. Gradually she began to read.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: Wow, this chapter was... fluffy. All about the love. Oh well, I had fun writing this one, and as usual, I hope you enjoyed it. Now CrazyDeafGirl, I better see an update soon... lol, take your time. Please Review!


	5. An Unexpected Surprise

Answers to Reviews:

**Tamurl**- I did answer your questions in a review, but if you didn't get it, the answers were all basically yes to the questions. Except the first two of course, but I'm just going to make you read the review for that (lol)

**Queen-of-Azarath**- You shouldn't say never, Queen-of-Azarath. I admit I once had a boy in England (before I moved...) that would most likely do that and much more if he could. Of course, I was young then and never got into the dating thing. Six years later and I still haven't got into it (can't really blame me, most boys in my school now are either morons or jerks. Or both)

**darkaurora333- **I'll buy you a new calendar at the next holiday, it seems like you need a new one ;) I'm not all into Star/Rob, but they're amazingly easy to write with. Thank you for the cookie, it tasted really good :D Isn't it amazing that your 'curse' didn't happen? But I can almost gaurantee you that your curse may come into effect this week after this update. Genealogy Fair is coming up this week, and I need to finish preparing. I'm not even going to mention my exams, you would already know that. Well, thank you for reading my story! I'm going to read your fanfiction after this, you have been warned (Muhahahahhahahahahhaha...haha...ha...)

**CrazyDeafGirl- **I must admit I had a lot of fun writing that part of chapter 4, it is definitely my favorite so far. Don't worry about the reviews too much, I have to say the same thing happens to me all the time. I was really surprised when this story got a lot of reviews when I thought the others would get more. Shows what I know. : Nice update on your story, and I ask you to continue. Please don't quit it, I'm really enjoying it and it's one of the only stories I've been looking for lately :D I don't know about romance that much... I know there is romance in my story but I don't care for it that much. But it is fun to write reactions :D Wow, I think I'll never start the chapter if I keep talking to you, (I could go on forever, it's that easy) so I'm going to end this now, and until YOUR next update, I depart. Well, almost. lol

And now on to the chapter! This chapter may be very confusing/stupid/both or whatever, but oh well, it works for now :)

Chapter 5: An Unexpected Surprise

"Titans, Go!" Robin shouted, running in a zig zag pattern towards Johnny Rancid. Johnny threw a whiplash chain at the boy wonder, thrusting Robin backwards. Starfire flew up from behind Johnny and delivered a perfect volley of starbolts, each hitting their mark. He groaned in pain, and got back up. With unusual speed he threw a crowbar at her, and being unsuspecting, got hit hard in the face with the metal weapon. Rancid had definitely gone rogue biker style, as his weapons were all what a gangster would own. Cyborg rode on Beast Boy as they charged him, sonic cannon on the ready. Rancid hid something behind his back, and when Beast Boy got close enough, delivered a hard blow with a bat which caused Beast Boy to fall and make Cyborg fall off his perch.

"Ahh... Where's the other bird? She's not a wimp like you guys are." Rancid mocked, laughing hard on his pile of rubble. He noted the titan's silence, and for once, his face showed concern. "You're not telling me..." Starfire stood up, cradling her arm.

"Yes." She stated simply. Johnny looked shocked, then anger crossed his face.

"I'm gonna kill that guy!" He yelled, and raced off into the dark alleyways which provided protection to those not wanting to be seen. The others walked over to Star, confusion crossing their faces.

"What was that about?" Cyborg asked, his mouth hanging loosely.

"He seemed... depressed that Friend Raven was 'gone'." Starfire noted.

"Johnny seemed to have liked Raven... Dudes, that's kinda scary." Beast Boy almost whimpered.

"Yes, but I think he knows the killer too. Titans, Follow him!" Robin commanded, rushing after the supposed-to-be villain. The others followed.

Raven sat, reading silently. The magician that had died had just suddenly revived himself. This book was starting to sound hauntingly familiar... She tossed it down and sighed, listening to the soft tick of a nearby clock. She turned her sharp gaze onto it, looking at the digits within. She began to worry for the titans, as it had already been three hours since they went to tackle Johnny. Remembering their last fight it only took a few minutes. However she knew that they knew what they were doing, and dropped the subject and started to read once more. Weird, this magician's birthday was April 20th...

For what seemed like forever, the titans finally spotted Johnny stopping in front of some walled up door. He crunched his hand into a fist, and with metal rings pounded through the wood and broke down the door. He growled and disappeared into the darkness.

"Must we still lock the Johnny up?" Starfire questioned, not knowing what the answer was going to be.

"Truthfully, I don't know anymore." Robin replied. He waved his hand for his comrades to follow and was enshrouded in the darkness. They heard Johnny's footsteps, so Starfire had no need to shine her starbolts down upon the cold gloomy pavement floor. They heard his rasp breathing, and stopped to listen.

"You went after Raven? Raven!?! I thought we had a deal that you would stop." Rancid shouted, his hands crunching into fists once more.

"Ah, I never said I would end, my dear friend. I wasn't the one who killed her." A cold voice answered. The voice seemed so familiar but none of the titans could grasp his name...

"What?" came the confused reply.

"Indeed. I made George do it. He had no choice in the matter, and soon, neither will you." The voice said.

"..." Johnny's face demanded an explanation, so the mysterious man began to inform the troubled gangster.

"I planted a solitary probe that can not be detected by radio wave sensors. It does all that I tell it to. George has been my most loyal servant for years. And I'm going to make sure you are his successor." And the voice came to a sudden halt. The titans rushed in, expecting to be two men in the room. There was, however, only Johnny in the room. His outline could be seen from an unknown light coming from above. Starfire sensed the next action just before it happened, and thrust herself towards Johnny. The sudden impact winded Johnny, but that was better in a long run. A needle stabbed the ground where Johnny once stood. All stared at it silently. The door behind them slammed shut, soon to be locked forever. There was no way out.

Johnny got up and was surprised to see Starfire floating beside him, glad to have done something right today. For a minute he found himself marveling her features, but quickly snapped himself out of it. She was a Teen Titan. She was supposed to be his enemy forever. But, he had a feeling that his assumption was wrong...

"How do we get out?" Beast Boy panicked, knowing there was most likely more needles than just the one. Robin tried to contact Raven using his communicator, but all lines were jammed. They stood in despair, knowing that soon they were going to be mindless zombies, killing at will. They may even kill Raven... The thought lingered in their minds like a child not willing to let go. Laser rays began to shine, all pointing at the group's chests. As one thousands of beams shot out, about to consume and annihilate their prey. At the last moment a large black shield enveloped the group, taking all the blasts. The bubble assumed the form of a raven, and gave a mighty caw before sinking into the ground, with the group in its mist.

When they could finally see something again, it was the Main Room of the tower. Johnny tensed, thinking that his sentence would most likely be another twenty years of jail. He had gotten out plenty of times before, but just the thought of having to be in that rotten cell chilled his bones. None of the titans seemed moved to take him to prison, as nothing was said about it. They were all staring at something, and he turned around to look. His eyes widened in surprise.

There sat Raven, wheezing terribly. Her cloak slipped and revealed a large white strap supporting her stomach, wrapped all the way around her body. Her eyes gave them a look of relief, and fainted. Beast Boy immediately rushed to her side, picking her up and taking her to the infirmary. Johnny just gaped at the scene. The man told him that she was dead, having been shot by George in some random girl's house. She wasn't. Raven had somehow survived. He admired her, and almost forgot he was the bad guy.

"She never died after all. Wow." Johnny randomly spoke. The remaining titans just nodded at him, each with concern on their faces.

"You must never let this word out until we get the man who did this." Robin ordered, his voice calm. Robin felt awfully weird talking to Johnny Rancid (of all people) when they were on a bad foot with each other.

"Poor George. If only he knew..." Rancid murmured, after agreeing with the boy wonder. Cyborg looked at him.

"What was that?" Cyborg demanded, walking towards Johnny.

"Clatie and Sarah, his wife and only daughter? Well..." Johnny hesitated, "they're not dead."

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: I don't even know why I have Johnny in my story. I hate that guy, he bothers me so much. Oh well, he is the type of gangster man, so I guess it worked fine. I'm going to be very busy this week, so the next update may not be until Friday or the weekend. Genealogy Fair is coming up this week, and I need to finish preparing. I'm not even going to mention my exams, you should already know that. Sorry in advance, but I'm one of those people that really care for their grades.

I got a 4.0 first quarter! Woohoo! Anyways... I hope you liked the chapter, even if it was short, stupid, blah blah blah, and as usual, it's time for you to review! Muahhahahahhahahahhaha...


	6. Truths Revealed

Yay, I'm done with Genealogy and my first semester! Woohoo! Now I have Science Fair to think about (Sigh) Oh well, for now I will rejoice and write a chapter in celebration of this happy event. Yay, today is Saturday! Huh, I'm writing this at 1AM, so if it gets weird or I just put some ZZZzzz's somewhere, you'll know why. Onto the Chapter we go! Um... Sorry if this is sent sometime far, far away but I've been very busy.

Chapter 6: Truths Revealed

"Say what" Cyborg asked shocked, Johnny's words echoing in his mind. _Clatie and Sarah aren't dead._ That was definitely a surprise. Johnny remained silent after his last sentence, clearly wondering if they'd believe him or not. The chances of them actually doing it were slim, as he was the low life criminal dressed and suited as a biker. But no objections seemed to be fired his direction. The titans had certainly changed during the past month, when he had last saw them. Back then they would just ignore him and take him out, but now... Johnny sighed. He would never understand the Teen Titans.

"Are you..." Robin hesitantly started to question. Johnny gave a brief nod. His life had turned around in a matter of minutes. It occurred to him then how precious time was, and how you only get one chance to use it. The main doors slid open to reveal Beast Boy holding onto Raven, who was leaning against him for support. She seemed to have accepted him real quick, Johnny mused. They trudged down the steps and situated themselves on the couch where Raven had just been ten minutes ago. Robin was about to ask why Raven was not in the infirmary, but Beast Boy clarified the answer before the question could even be uttered.

"Raven wished to be out here. She sensed something important." He said, taking a glance over at his new girlfriend. Raven had her eyes closed, resting herself while not in use. Beast Boy gave a small smile and looked back at the other titans, and Johnny, standing nearby.

"Friend Raven must be really gifted, because the something of the important did occur only a few minutes before." Starfire stated, also complimenting her fellow female friend. (Woah, three F words in a row. Zzzz... J/k!) Raven opened her eyes and glared at Starfire expectantly, demanding to know exactly what they had discovered.

"Clatie and Sarah... They're not dead" Cyborg exclaimed, looking over to Johnny. Johnny was staring out the wide panel windows, overlooking the city with a tired look in his eyes. Raven understood, and patiently waited for Mr. Rancid to continue. He gave another sigh, feeling her eyes bore upon his back as he stared out the window. He turned around and met her eyes, never once blinking. The past flashed through his mind, one lingering longer than the others. It was a face-off between him and Raven, when he had taken control of the city. He felt bad as Raven was blasted into the air and plunged into the sticky water that held her at bay. The image faded away and his present location once more became the spotlight of attention.

"Sarah's death was just a ploy" Johnny began"to get George on the move. She was used as bait to lure him into a trap, to eternally be brainwashed for his master's own will. Sarah's tragic death story was just a cover up for the larger operation at stake. By hacking into profiles and changing the words, everyone believed that George killed for revenge of his former daughter. But he would never kill a soul in his life, so the master seditated him." Johnny paused, lingering on the last few words. Sighing, he continued. "George was turned into an assassin in an instant. Something in the fluid caused his brain cells to malfunction and forget everything except what the master wished for him to know. Judging by your current condition, you've met George." He said, acknowledging Raven, who merely nodded.

"Who is the master" Robin asked curiously, mastermind criminals flashing through his mind.

"None have ever seen his face, though he is rumored to have one eye. Not even his figure or stature have ever been seen, the only way people identify him is by his voice." The Titans remained quiet. One eye... Why did that seem so familiar? A quick image of a masked figure flashed in Raven's mind, and she gave a deep sigh. She had always known who it was, she just didn't want the others to know. How could they have been so clueless?

"Raven, something's bothering you. I should know." Robin declared, almost proudly at his status with the dark titan. Raven remained silent.

"Dude, the man can't be that bad" Beast Boy exclaimed. Raven wished she had a voodoo doll of Beast Boy to prick at. But remembering that she was his girlfriend, the thoughts swiftly drifted away.

"Well... The man who has been doing these events is..."

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: You seriously thought I would end it there? You should of seen your face! Hahhahahhaha! Umm... Okay, moving on.

"... Slade." Silence engulfed the team. Johnny just gave a confused look at them, not knowing who Slade was.

"So Slade set it all up? Got us out of the tower, attacked us, then set George off to kill his next 'victim'" Cyborg asked, obviously surprised. Raven nodded her head.

"And there's one more thing." Raven began. Johnny looked at her.

"We aren't alone."

"Huh" The others asked in unison. Then a loud boom resonated it's way up the tower. Sladebots raced through the halls and finally reached the main room, where the titans waited, prepared. When the door blasted open, one yell could be heard.

"Titans, go" The boy wonder of course. They sprang into action, including Johnny with his crowbar and chains. Beast Boy turned into a Rhino and rampaged through the group, destroying the replicas with his horn. He stopped and turned into a Gorilla and pounded the nearest sladebots with his massive fists. Beast Boy was pleased with himself. Showing off to a girl was one of his many habits, even if that girl was a team member that had seen it all before. He guessed that Raven was probably rolling her eyes. He gave a grin and continued to fight, thinking of all the things he could do with Raven.

Starfire had taken to the air and was dive bombing into large groups of the sladebots, firing starbolts on the plunge. She gave a small whoop of victory, and turned to see how her friends were doing. The bots seemed to keep pouring in, Robin seemed to be doing fine at keeping them at bay, however. His bo-staff slashed in several different ways, smashing heads and kicking them out of the way. Cyborg was nearby, using his fist as his choice of weapon. It would of been his sonic cannon, but he didn't want to ruin the place more or accidentally hurt any of his friends. He also was doing well, every time he broke a sladebot he would yell his catch phrase: booyah!

Finally she turned her attention to Beast Boy, who had just been ambushed from behind. He struggled to get out of their grip. A slade replica walked up to him with some gun in his hand. It didn't seem like the usual sonic blaster, and it made Starfire worried. She thrust herself forwards, eyes glowing green with fury, hoping she would make it to her friend's aid in time. She wouldn't be fast enough, Starfire realized as the bot used Beast Boy as a hostage. Her hands sparked green, a starbolt at the ready. Then, as the captor pulled the trigger, everything in that area was swarmed with black energy. The gun crackled and burst, Beast Boy's holders melted, and the one sladebot with the gun pummeled towards the ground, smashing into pieces. Beast Boy looked immensely relieved, knowing it would probably have been the end if the timing was off by less than a second. He turned towards the couch and mouthed a quiet thank you to the blue cloaked girl sitting down.

Raven gasped, the pain was unbearable. By using her powers, it had taken away the only healing system she was using for the pain. She slumped onto floor, on her knees. Beast Boy had already gone back to fighting, so didn't notice her condition. Nearby Johnny whipped another of Slade's robots, making sure they wouldn't get passed him. He slashed his crowbar upwards, knocking the attacker overhead down and throwing it over the countertop. Mechanical parts littered the floor, it became hard not to trip for the male titans. For Starfire, it still was no problem. The waves of strikers slowly began to thin. Robin smacked the lead attacker to the ground, knocking it out for good. They didn't see it, but they sure could hear what happened next.

CRASH! The glass for the windows shattered, and a blinding light issued from the explosion. The light burned their eyes, and forced them to close their eyes fast. A rarely heard scream resounded, the voice almost unidentifiable from the racket coming from the blast. But all knew who it was instantly. Raven. The light faded away and a blackened room came to view. Everything was in ashes, the carpet seemed to glow a dark red. The titans ignored their home's condition and looked out the broken window.

It was dark out, it was hard to see their surroundings. The lights from the city illuminated the water, making it glow a cheerful yellow. But it did not even make Starfire squeal with pleasure and happiness. They looked, when they heard a splash. Immediately their attention shifted to a small ripple that disturbed the calm tide. Beast Boy dived off the tower, transforming into a raven to fly over the rocks. He changed into a swordfish and plunged into the cold water. It was easy to see as the city's lights blared through the water. However, nothing seemed to be wrong. Except there seemed to be no... fish. Interesting, Beast Boy thought as he swam farther into the depths of the sea, forever on the lookout for any signs of life. Suddenly, he spotted a bubble stream coming from below. He plunged down as fast as he could, his worries stabbing him like a knife.

He saw a piece of fabric caught on a piece of rock. Under closer inspection it was navy blue. His eyes widened, and looked at the imprints on the sand. It showed that a person, or people, had been rolling on it. He followed the path until it suddenly stopped. He looked around. Only a big boulder was in view, and it stretched along the surface for at least a mile. He gave a sigh of depression. Then, he saw two big streams of bubbles coming from the other end. With a small hope he went over the rock and found what he was looking for.

Raven was fighting a dark shadow, struggling to get out of his grasp. Her face was slowly turning purple, the lack of oxygen was finally getting to her. Her attempts at getting away became feeble. Beast Boy gasped and charged, striking the dark foe from behind. A large bubble came out of his mouth, signaling his pain. He let go of Raven, who floated to the floor unconscious. Her cloak wrapped tightly around her like a cocoon. Beast Boy turned into a small whale and did the thing she always hated. He ate her. He quickly began swimming up, knowing that the opponent was sure to follow. He was about to break to the surface when something grabbed his large tail, forcing him back down. It was some rope that had somehow attached itself to him. He pulled hard, trying to get out of the water. He had no hope of getting out, the force was too strong for him. He took a deep breath, and launched a stream of water out of the hole (above) and into the night sky. Beast Boy only managed to hold it for a few seconds, then stopped because something else grabbed his attention. He gave a look down, and found the shadowed man staring at him, grinning. A familiar gun type thing was facing Beast Boy's large form.

Beast Boy slowly began to sink back down, his strength slowly draining from his effort to break surface. His mind began to grow black. If he lost consciousness, he would be in deep trouble. His whale form would evaporate back to a human, and he would really swallow Raven. Beast Boy's vision blurred. A flashing green light streaked across, then all went dark.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: Seriously this time, lol. Please Review, and I hope you liked this chapter! Also... Birthmark was an awesome episode. Poor Raven. Anyways, Ta ta for now! TTFN!


	7. Recovery

Thank you all for the reviews! I'm so happy. Well, onto the magical Number 7! Woot!

Chapter 7: Recovery

"Raven" Beast Boy gasped, bolting forwards. His back screamed in pain as the result. He cringed and lay down back on the white bed, knowing that at least he was in the infirmary. One of the only rooms unaffected by the blast, luckily.

"Beast Boy, you okay" Robin asked, suddenly appearing at BB's side. Beast Boy's green eyes just stared at the white mask that returned the glare.

"What... What happened" Beast Boy questioned, ignoring Robin's last sentence. Robin seemed hesitant to answer. When Beast Boy saw this, his heart dropped. Something bad had happened to Raven, he knew it. Robin seemed to have read his thoughts, and gave a small laugh.

"Don't worry about Rae, Beast Boy. She's recovering on the adjacent bed, if you haven't noticed." Robin told him, giving a small smirk. Beast Boy instantly relaxed, knowing that Raven at least, was okay. Robin didn't seem to be done, and Beast Boy induced him to continue.

"Well, Beast Boy..." Robin started slowly, choosing his words carefully for Beast Boy to understand. Beast Boy lay patiently, thinking what would make Robin lag so. It finally came out a few minutes later after a chorus of crickets chirped.

"Starfire saved you and Raven. She threw a starbolt at the newcomer and grabbed you to fly you to shore. Your form was slowly reverting back to human form, so she got Raven out of your mouth" Robin made a face, not mentioning the saliva that came out with her"and was pulled back to sea. We haven't heard from Starfire since. Cy's out looking for her." Ah. Well that definitely revealed why Robin seemed redundant, worried. Beast Boy was about to try out his groggy voice again when a splutter of coughs and gasps echoed beside him. He slowly turned to where the noise was coming from, where Robin had disappeared to.

There was Raven, in not the best of conditions. Her cloak had refused to be taken off, scattered sand lay encrusted on it's interior and surface. Slashes were evident all over the place, ripped edges and red blotches skewered her entire frame. Her eyes were scrunched in deep pain, and her hand seemed fixed to her throat as she coughed and spluttered violently. Her violet eyes flashed open, and Raven shuddered. Beast Boy finally noticed that her attire was very damp, and stuck to her body. Obviously Robin wasn't going to take it off, after all... She was Beast Boy's girl, and the fact she valued privacy.

"Aqua..." Raven whispered, her thoughts straining to stay on one thought. She then found two emerald green orbs staring at her.

"Beast... Boy... Thank you." She murmured. Beast Boy gave her a smile, his pearly whites literally blinding her. She scrunched her eyes shut. Beast Boy realized what happened, and chuckled in embarrassment.

"Sorry Rae, recently got my teeth cleaned." Beast Boy laughed, then turned serious once more. "I'm also sorry I didn't get to you on time." Raven gave a soft groan, but Beast Boy couldn't decipher what it meant.

"You saved me... that's all that matters." And that was all she said before she slipped out of consciousness once more. Beast Boy settled down and lay his head comfortably on the soft pillow, always facing Raven. He just closed his eyes when the electronic doors slid open. Whatever happened, the squabble of feet seemed rushed. He strained to hear the hushed conversation.

"Found her at the docks, Robin. She looked pretty bad." a deep voice said. Cyborg, Beast Boy managed to distinguish. The hybrid gave a soft sigh, feeling that he should of done something. A soft plop sounded, signaling that the guest now lay in an identical bed to his own.

"Oh, Starfire..." Robin murmured, his voice stinging with pain. Robin silently sobbed, but Beast Boy's sensitive ears caught it.

"She's gonna be okay man, you get some rest now." Cyborg replied, and led the exhausted leader out of the sick bay.

Time seemed to drag by until finally Cyborg returned, coming to check on the three titans. Beast Boy had finally let the darkness take him, and snored softly. Cyborg cracked a smile, and went to check on the two female titans. They both seemed beaten up bad. Scars outlined Star's persona, giving her the look of an experienced warrior. Under normal human circumstances, those marks will be forever engraved in the skin. But this is Starfire we were talking about. An extraterrestrial being from an alien planet called Tamaran, three galaxies away from present day earth.

Cyborg scanned her entire frame, ensuring that her condition would improve. He gave a deep sigh of relief. Already the healing process had begun. She should be up in no time. Satisfied with Starfire's results, he went to check the last titan in the room. Unlike the other titans, she didn't move. Looking upon the sanded cloak, he realized that she couldn't. She was literally glued to the bed. But that's not what made him worried. Glued or no, Raven usually put herself in a trance to heal herself. After a quick scan, none of her energies seemed focused on her banded wounds. Besides a small amount running her heart, all was completely contracted within the mind. Anything could be happening in there. Knowing Raven, however, that couldn't be entirely a good thing. After making sure all inflicted wounds were bandaged, he gave a quick scan over Beast Boy, just in case. Unbeknownst to Beast Boy, he had a long crack that split up his back with dried up blood. That rope had been cutting in his skin for far too long, but it didn't seem to bother the green elf, who continued to snooze peacefully. Cyborg sighed silently and managed to whisper"Goodnight, ya'll" before walking out the door.

In The Main Room...

Cyborg made himself a roast beef sandwich, complete with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. His stomach growled, urging the technical titan to hurry up. Cyborg took the first big bite and sighed in pleasure. Nothing can dampen his spirits, not with his companion roast beef beside him. A red light blared throughout the tower, and only Robin came to receive the call. The others titans communicators were switched off, and naturally the infirmary wasn't built into the alarm system.

"What's the problem" Robin asked, running across the newly placed carpet to his now only remaining healthy team mate. Only an hour ago Cyborg had fixed up the room, and it appeared as nothing had ever happened.

"Eh, just Dr. Light this time. Think we can handle him alone" Cyborg stated. Robin thought quietly. The only reason they had ever won against Light was because of Raven, and she was currently out of commotion. Robin shrugged and the pair raced towards the elevator. The bell dinged and the doors slid open to revealed a guest that was until then forgotten.

"What should I do" Johnny asked, kneeling against the small box's frames.

"You could stay and guard the other titans" Robin began, but Cyborg cut him off.

"Yo! You don't know what he'd do to them" Cyborg exclaimed. A light bulb appeared above Mr. Rancid's head.

"I could trick Dr. Light into believing I'm on his side! We have... erm.. been in touch." Johnny revealed his only true alliance with any villain. Robin nodded, signaling his agreement.

"Cyborg, I entrust you the care of the other titans. I think with this newly devised plan it wouldn't require much force." Robin said, giving back the glare that Cyborg set upon him. Cyborg gave into understanding, and quietly walked back from which he had come. Robin and Rancid (double R, yay! Uhhh..yeah.) rode the elevator down to the garage, where both Rob's and Johnny's bikes conveniently awaited them.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: I don't know why, but I felt like this chapter sucked. I did give a hint who The Shadow actually was, I'll give a cookie to who can guess what/who the shadow is, and where both (yes, I did say both) hints were. Please Review, and adios amigos! And one other thing, one of the hints was in the last chapter. CrazyDeafGirl, you better update soon...

Sorry this chapter was short, but I'm saving up the storylines for the next few chappies. So in other words, this was just one of those link chapters. (Silence) Agh, nevermind. Stupid Science Fair...


	8. Not the Brightest Crayon in the Box, Are...

Author's Note: I hath returned! Woot! I'm so ever sorry about the... err... almost month delay, but I have had very time crunching projects I had to complete. Science Fair, Word Roots, Speeches, Spanish, and Health are but a scratch on the surface. But alas, I finally have no homework and what better way to celebrate then write a chapter to my best friends and reviewers! I'm very sorry CrazyDeafGirl for not replying to any of your chapters, I attempted to review at school but I guess it didn't work, as you obviously didn't get any of it. Nice job on them by the way. ) Hmm... I better stop talking before I lose the plot that I have currently in mind for this story, so until the end of this chapter, adios amigos!

Chapter 8: Not the Brightest Crayon in the Box, Are We?

Robin and Rancid raced down the alleyways, steering to Dr. Light's location. On the way, Johnny had declared a race, and they were now dodging trash cans and brick walls as the other attempted to thrust him into it. Robin gave a small smirk. He hadn't had this much fun in ages, and for once, he actually forgot the troubles that lay deeply embedded into his mind. It surprised him greatly, however, that this fun was issued from Johnny, the street punk guy who usually annoyed the living daylights out of him. But since their last encounter on the streets, everything had changed.

"That the best you got, bird boy?" Johnny laughed, as Robin unsuccessfully swung his bo-staff into Johnny's face. Johnny grabbed it and pocketed it, grinning at the leader's mocking shock. Suddenly the masked wonder broke into a grin, and waved goodbye to Rancid. Johnny turned to look forwards and plunged into a brick wall. The motorcycle took the damage, using the wheels as the cushions. Johnny grimaced, and made a private vow that he would pull a monstrous prank on the kid.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." Robin said, offering a green gloved hand to the crouched biker. Rancid accepted it and handed over the bo-staff. A small beeper went off, and Robin used his other hand to grab the communicator. Dr. Light was in the parallel street to their own. Scheming expressions appeared on both faces.

"Okay, here's the plan..."

Meanwhile...

Raven ducked as another ball of dark red energy was hurled into her hiding spot, on the other side of a boulder. The boulder exploded, debris flung in all directions. Her hood slipped from her face as a windstorm thrashed wildly about the world. Raven gasped, falling to her knees. Her gash in her side had reopened, and blood soaked the bandage keeping it together. As she crouched, red slash marks were revealed all around her frame. She looked at them in deep confusion. Where did they come from? For now, it didn't matter. She had to get out of there somehow, and fast.

"Hatred shall rule!" A bellowing voice yelled, its harshness deafening to the ears.

"You really need a new motto, father. It's getting quite old." Raven replied, levitating onto a nearby rock. The looming figure of Trigon stood before her. He looked down with his sneering face, and Raven just wanted him to disappear. But she knew that wasn't possible. He would always be haunting her dreams, ruining her state of mind until she finally gave in. Her cloak wrapped tightly around her, as if trying to protect her fragile figure. But it wasn't enough, as a blast of air ripped it open.

Trigon just stared at the sight before him. Raven was in a dreadful state. Blood soaked into her bandage, turning it a bright red. Her scars seemed deep, etching all across her body. It wasn't to happen. Not yet. With a sigh, Trigon sat down. Raven raised her eyebrow and did the same, exhaustion finally taking over. Trigon seemed to be muttering something. She strained to hear it.

"The time will come... But not today..." With that, he just evaporated. Raven widened her eyes. He had never just left of his own free will before. It was totally out of character for him to do so. Not that she was complaining. With an exasperated sigh, Raven lay on the ground and closed her eyes, peace finally restoring her will.

In the Infirmary...

Cyborg just stared as Raven muttered words and her facial expressions changed constantly. After 5 minutes of continuous muttering, Raven gave a deep sigh and lay still. Alarmed, Cyborg rushed forward and scanned her, hoping she was okay. The results were good. Her energy spread out of her head like rapid fire, finally deciding to replenish and heal its bruised state. Nearby Starfire began to whimper, and she shook uncontrollably. Cyborg quickly ran to her side, scanning her frame as well. It was chaos. Inflicting emotions ensued a dramatizing situation of the lungs. For some unknown reason, she wasn't getting air. Swiftly he began an operation he had never thought he would have to learn until now.

Out in The City...

"Hey Light Bulb, why you making such a fuss now?" Rancid asked, walking up to his 'partner'. Dr. Light cringed at the nickname, and turned to face Johnny.

"I want some gold, Ransom Rancid, you know the purpose." Light replied, filling up a small bag full with gold bars. Johnny sighed inwardly, and placed a hand on Light's shoulder.

"I think we should talk about this. Don't you have enough already for this cause?" Johnny asked, gazing into the other's black orbs.

"They are demanding extra, Johnny. I need it for the safety." Silence enveloped the pair, both just looking at the ground.

"Maybe you should tell the titans about this. Otherwise they'd just think you're a criminal for no reason." Light was alarmed by the suggestion.

"Are you okay there Rancid? The Titans would never give us a chance to explain." They looked about a bit before their eyes locked.

"I believe they would." Dr. Light just stared with shock, but also with deep worry. What Rancid said was usually correct, Light had found out earlier, but this seemed too bizarre to be possible.

"But shouldn't they be here by now? I mean, their alarm must of sounded off a while ago." Light questioned, thoughts plaguing his mind. Hearing that statement, Robin jumped from a small business roof and landed with a soft plop onto the sidewalk. Dr. Light backed away from him, fear plainly showing through the eyes. Dr. Light turned to Rancid who hadn't moved.

"Where are the others? On the rooftops as well?" Light shakily asked, clutching his arms in a tight embrace to stop shuddering.

"Just who you see standing before you." Robin replied softly. His calmness triggered some confusion within Light, and the doctor thrust a light bolt at the boy wonder. Robin easily rolled out of the way as Rancid pinned Dr. Light to the ground, attempting to stop the man's terrible shaking and squabbling.

"Not the brightest crayon in the box, are we, Light?" Rancid quoted, whispering urgently. Instantly Dr. Light relaxed his muscles, and slowly Johnny got up. Seeing Robin's astonished look, Johnny murmured,

" My motto. It works like a charm on him." Robin nodded in understanding.

"Could you tell what you two were talking about earlier? Why does he need these bars?" Robin asked. Johnny shook his head. Something dramatic could happen and Robin still would want information.

"You see... it all began when..."

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: Sorry if this was shorter than usual, but I just wanted to post _something_ to show I hadn't forgotten my fellow writers. ) I hope this was a good chapter, after rereading it sounded good but an author can't always be too sure about it.

The quote "Not the brightest crayon in the box, are we?" came from my friend Emi, who made a lot of interesting quotes I may write into future chapters. Though this next quote has nothing to do with the story, I still find it interesting. Tell me what you think.

"If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of Progress?"


	9. Why be a Criminal?

Hola, fellow writers and reviewers! Sorry for the wait, though Science Fair was technically over when I last updated, he (the science teacher) forgot to mention that we'd be making 5 power point presentations on earthquakes and world changes, and Standardized tests (Already taken) and ITBS tests are coming up soon. And.. Oh never mind, you know how most schools can be with all those piles of homework which you can barely balance in your hands as its wobbling and about to tip over. Absolutely annoying.

CrazyDeafGirl- Thank you for all the reviews, and for updating your story. You really know how to get people flustered, attempting to figure out what would happen next but you twist it differently making everyone go "I'd never of thought of that." Great Job with your story, by the way.

And thanks to everyone else that has or had ever reviewed this story. Since Spring Break has now officially started, let the updates of stories begin! Yahoo!

Chapter 9: Why be a Criminal?

"And so that's why I take the gold bars. Sure, I'd love to be selfish, but everything has a reason, and don't forget it." Dr. Light finished. Robin thought intently on what he had just said. His case seemed to be the same as George's, in fact, it was exactly a copy of the situation, except the fact that Light wasn't under control and was supplying the money to save his family. Robin felt an extreme sense of pity, but didn't express it. But it made Robin wonder, if that was the reason Dr. Light attempted to steal the gold bars the first time, did secret society exist back then? As if reading his thoughts, Light grimly replied,

"Yes." Silence then engulfed the trio, enshrouding them with awkward feelings and weird mentalities. Dr. Light sighed and held up his hands. Robin raised his eyebrow.

"I've done wrong, and I surrender." Light acknowledged him, and suddenly Robin remembered his duty as a superhero. Robin raised a green gloved hand.

"No. I'm not going to have you arrested for this. For this time, I will let you take some of the money. However, I'd like you to take me to the drop-off point." Robin replied. Light turned deafly pale, like a Raven losing control of her powers was behind him. Light's face was horrified at something, perhaps being caught showing Robin the way.

"I'll hide from view, don't worry about that." Robin said, reading Light's shocked face in a somewhat calm tone. Robin didn't know why, but his heart was fluttering like a butterfly. And, he didn't know why. Was it because he had in some way failed his duties, letting the villain get his prize? Or was something larger at stake? Robin mentally slapped himself. He was Leader of the Teen Titans, he could not act this way.

"Lead the way, Light Bulb." Rancid finally said, making his appearance known once more. Light merely nodded in reply and began to walk the long road to the place only known as... The Drop Off.

Meanwhile...

Cyborg was having no success at trying to make Starfire's body articulate air. And he hadn't a clue why not. As he was about to give up and leave Starfire for the dead (AN: Isn't he nice?) a past conversation struck him hard, and Cyborg mentally cursed. How could he forget?

_"And if you ever need any help, my state-of-the-art mechanics of the 30th century will be right here, to fix you up in a jiffy." Cyborg stated proudly. Starfire suppressed the giggles coming up her throat._

_"That is nice, friend Cyborg, but I do not need air to live. Tameranians are made differently from that of humans. I need sunlight. Tameranian systems are solar powered, much like what some of the technology here uses." Starfire replied, floating next to Cyborg as he fixed up the T-Car._

_"I'll remember that, Starfire. I won't let you down." _

But he had let her down. He had forgotten. Feeling like a total twit, he sat down on a nearby chair and buried his face into his hands.

"I'm sorry, Star, I let you down. I'm so... Wait a minute." Cyborg trailed off, and excitement seized his half robotic, half human structure. With his heart set, he went off to work on what may become his most advanced and useful device... ever.

Few Minutes Later...

It seemed to be dark and quiet when he finally awoke. Looking about he noticed the two girls still in the beds parallel to him, Raven still stuck to the bed and Starfire quietly whimpering. Beast Boy sighed in relief when he saw Raven's face full of content, no longer strained and hurt like a wounded dog. Beast Boy's heart filled with joy, knowing that Raven was going to recover just fine. It still nerved him slightly that her large gash was still there, and that Raven hadn't healed it by now. But he knew she would take care of it, and rolled over to look at the red head.

What he saw surprised him. Only a minute before she looked fine, with occasional whimpers here and there. But now, it seemed that there was a new girl laying there. The once glossy shiny red hair was now a dim lifeless dark maroon, and her skin was no longer a tanned orange. It was a sickly yellow, and it hurt Beast Boy immensely just looking at her frame. Beast Boy flashed his head over to the doorway, as a lot of noises could be heard beyond it. It sounded like something heavy, heavier than Cyborg, hearing the footfalls. It was coming in this direction. But knowing that only the titans resided in the tower, he relaxed. Beast Boy felt fresh and new, no pain jolted down his back, his vision wasn't blurred and Beast Boy also wanted to added that he looked _good._ Had to be the hair, Beast Boy decided, mischief twinkling in his eyes. He almost forgot why he was staring at the door, getting too into his own thoughts to remember why.

He was brought back to reality instantly when a huge block of machinery stood in the doorway. Two screws shined like eyes, and there was a weird box thing revolving in the center, held within place by a cylinder container which held the liquids and box in place. '_Now THAT can't be good._' Beast Boy thought, alarmed at the sudden appearance of this spectacle. As two robotic hands raised and began to glow, Beast Boy decided to take action. Turning into a cat he pounced from his roost (bed) and flashed towards the towering machine, set to take out the box cylinder thing which he proposed was the heart. He changed into a crocodile so he could snap it off with his long snout and sharp pointy teeth, when he was blasted by a blue energy force which didn't seem to be recognizable. BB screamed in pain as he hit the wall with a loud crash, thinking his innards had probably snapped in two, feeling the agonizing torture ripple through his body in waves. He had never remembered it to be this painful, slamming into a wall. Maybe it had been a while. He groggily looked up to his attacker, and nearly fainted. It wasn't that weird robotic thing at all, it was Cyborg.

"Dude.. How could you just... blast me? Where did our love... go?" Beast Boy asked weakly. Cyborg sighed, momentarily regretting his decision on blasting his green friend.

"You were going to destroy my _Solar Magnetic System Organizer 3000_, BB. It's the only way to save Starfire, and you were going to ruin it in your state of mild confusion." He replied. Beast Boy felt really stupid after that was said. He was going to destroy Starfire's one chance of survival, and now was full of shame. Cyborg just muttered a "Don't worry about it BB, it wasn't your fault." before dragging the _SMSO3000 _over to Star's bedside. Cyborg connected everything together, placed some wires on Starfire and placed a huge yellow cylinder over her, which went all the way to the ground.

"The intensity of the sun on Earth isn't helping Starfire, so all we need is to multiply its intensity here by that of Tameran and wa-la!" Cyborg continued to speak out loud his thoughts and procedures, knowing that Beast Boy would want to hear, and in some way, Raven as well, even if she wasn't conscious.

"Okay _SOMO,_ (The machine, Cyborg named it SOMO lol) time to take it up 100,000 notches." SOMO responded with a whirling click, and before long, the room was bathed in a blinding light.

Out in the City...

"Here we are." Dr. Light whispered into a com link. From his hidden position, Robin looked at it with clear distaste. It was the docks. It all made sense. Slade had shown them it's location earlier, when he ambushed them with his Slade-bot army. But the titans had no way of knowing in the beginning. Slade was supposed to be dead, so his return was quite unexpected. He had rubbed it in their face, and they never caught on. He felt like a total idiot, but remained quiet.

"Okay, where's the entrance?" Robin replied softly. Dr. Light nodded his head in one direction, used his hand to tell Robin to stay put, and walked towards an abandoned port. Or at least, was supposed to be abandoned. When Dr. Light reared the dimly light opening, he whispered some jibberish that Robin couldn't catch. Two scruffed up looking men scuffled out, each having a machine gun hanging about their body. Light stiffened when he saw the pair, he obviously had a grudge against them. Light readied himself. It happened so fast, Robin barely saw what had occurred. Light was pinned on the ground by the more muscular of the pair, squishing the lightweight and not allowing any movements. The other looked around, looking for the bags that Light usually put them in.

"Where are they scrumbucket? We haven't all day, and you know what happens when you're late." The man said coldly, his hard stoned expression smirking evilly.

"Rancid's got it." Light managed to say, before the rest of the air in his lungs collapsed. He used all his energy to keep himself alive. He hated the man holding him down with a passion, and was going to get his revenge someday.

"You mean Ransom Rancid? I'd a heard that he'd been bad boy, and didn't f'llow the rools! (I spelt that wrong on purpose)" The man asked again, with his pea sized nut of a brain letting that thought drift within his head.

"I do mean Ransom Rancid. And you've heard wrong. He's followed all the rules." Light murmured. Both men being thick as they were, just accepted Light's version of the story, though they both disliked him as much as he did them.

"When's 'e arriving, aye?" The big buff man asked in interest.

"Now." And there was the speaker himself, the street biker bad guy with a whole load of gold bags behind him. Both armed men jumped to get over there faster, releasing Light as they went. Johnny narrowed his eyes and his left eyebrow twitched. Dr. Light reacted immediately to the signal and whipped out a light phaser. The bigger of the two heard it first, and turned around to meet his fate. As both men made eye contact with each other, Light fired the finishing blow that ended the man's evil reign. It struck him hard, blasting him through a nearby port building and out into the dark calm sea, disturbing it's peace with preposterous ripples.

The man's partner in crime yelled a cry of fury, grief overtaking him as he flung himself to tackle Rancid and kill the cocky piece of.. melons. (heh... Just the guy's opinion, don't kill me) Johnny was prepared, and performed an uppercut to the chin, knocking the guy over. (I'm getting annoyed of saying "the guy" so he will now be named... Bob) Bob double-backed and attempted to do a low kick and trip Johnny. But Rancid, now amused of Bob's weak attempts at trying to hit him, merely jumped over the leg and grand slammed the living daylights out of Bob. Bob groaned, his crushed lungs no longer providing a steady source of air. Light and Rancid looked down at him, both feeling satisfied with the revenge denied to them for so long. Their past history were was made into a living hellhole because of Bob and his companion, and now all was made up for it. Light and Rancid eyed each other, both giving permission to do the final blow. While they were debating none heard a soft groan issue from the ocean, something strained feeling crushed under the pressure applied to it…

To Be Continued…

Author's Note: Yay for update! Sorry it took awhile, but blah blah, it's all made up now. A much longer chapter than most of these have been lately, this has climbed to 2187 words, and others are usually 1700 or below, depending on the mood. Then there are more with 1800+… Anyways, I hope this makes up for the delay, it sounded pretty interesting when I wrote it, but an author can never be sure. Well, they can, but not all the time, or they'd just be too... perfect. Your turn to update now CrazyDeafGirl! D


	10. Survival Mode

Yay, Chapter 10 has arrived! I got some cool ideas for either a new story or a chapter in one of my stories today (April 2nd), and with some great excitement, I now give thee my next chapter! I don't think my idea will be in this chapter, but if it does appear, I'll let you know.

darkaurora33: Well yeah I was missing you! I was wondering what happened, since you hadn't reviewed in forever. Now I know why. I've had your experience before, except that it was with my grandmother (who prefered Nana) but I didn't go to a funeral. We had her cremated and her ashes were scattered around our cherry tree... That's the way it was supposed to be, so I don't feel that much sorrow.

_Some authors worth mentioning:_

_AussieLover- Only just started with fanfiction, and is doing superb! If you like any of Tamora Pierce's stories, you might want to read her story. For a first timer, AL has great word choice, and the only thing AL needs to work on a bit is length. It is hard at times, making chapters lengthy, I should know, so don't worry about it too much._

_Insanity101- Suspense and action/adventure professional writer! Rae/Rob pairing, it's really worth reading, and I highly recommend 101's stories._

_CrazyDeafGirl- Great writer of suspense and mystery, you can never guess what's going to happen until she posts her next chapter. (lol) Also recommended!_

_More authors to come, when I read more stories! I also add Princess Starfire of Tameran on there, and thSamurai, both are very talented at writing also._

_Now that I've completely forgot my train of thought, lets continue, shall we?_

Chapter 10: Survival Mode

No one realized what was happening until it was too late. The pressure of the water mounted, and its groans of pain grew louder. But attention is never placed upon the usually peaceful sea, because nothing is to be expected of it. Rancid and Light eyed each other, giving the other permission to beat Bob to a pulp. They both hesitated, and they didn't why. Rancid, taking a step back, decided to look to where Light had blasted the other thug, who landed and sunk like a stone in the great blue depths of the sea.

"Err... Light Bulb? Does the ocean usually act like... that?" Johnny stuttered, pointing a finger southward. Dr. Light looked away from Bob to Johnny's direction, and his eyes widened.

"Run!" Dr. Light yelled, but too late. A wave taller than the Titan Tower itself plummeted onto the surface, viciously tearing towards the pair with evil intent. Rancid tripped and closed his eyes, half because of the pain that jolted through his body, and also because he didn't want to face his bitter end. Seconds passed, so dreadfully slow it seemed like minutes. Then Johnny realized that he felt fresh air battering at his face, and not a watery death of oblivion. He opened his eyes.

"Agh!" Rancid shuddered, looking at the tops of buildings and skyscrapers as he was flown through the air. Turbulence occurred as the wind thrashed upon him, making him waver dangerously over the now mile-less stretched sea. He felt something tighten around his shoulders, piercing his skin a bit and he winced in pain. He looked up, and saw a green, and apparently really large, raven carrying him.

"Hold on to your seatbelt, dude, it's going to be a bumpy ride!" Came a scratchy voice from the raven. It cackled in victorious mischief, and began to rise itself a bit higher.

"Beast Boy? How are you... What are you doing?" Rancid asked, both in curiosity and fear. The raven merely winked in reply, and stopped flapping. Everything went still, and then... WHOOSH! They fell at an increasingly alarming rate, and Johnny thought that he probably wet his pants at the descent. Johnny became anxious, but swiftly it turned into anger at himself. Why was he acting like such a wuss? He was Ransom Rancid, top street punk man of Jump City. Why the sudden change of heart? He scolded himself further, and then realized why he was so fearful.

The distance radius left before impact was dangerously close, and flap as he might, Beast Boy couldn't possibly pull them out in time. Johnny was going to kill the green elf... if he got out of this alive. The raven gave a great caw as it realized that it couldn't slow it's plunging speed to the amount he wanted to. Johnny closed his eyes a second time, knowing that this time, it was the end…

"Hey dude, you okay? You passed out on me!" Beast Boy exclaimed, shaking Rancid furiously. Johnny groggily replied,

"Wha?" Beast Boy gave him a triumphant grin.

"I pulled us out man! You shoulda seen it! Then again, maybe you shouldn't..." Beast Boy rambled on and on about his accomplishment. Then suddenly, his communicator went off. While Beast Boy shouted, "Yeah? What? Sure, be right there!" Johnny wondered what happened to Dr. Light. Though he had been spared, he couldn't think of how Light Bulb would of gotten out of that situation. Rancid's mind drifted, feeling lost without his companion.

"Hello... Earth to Johnny... Hey, you listening to me?" Beast Boy was snapping his fingers, and making odd faces at him.

"What." Johnny demanded.

"We gotta go! Robin needs us, says that he needs help!" Beast Boy replied hastily, and transformed into a "blue" jay, taking off into the night sky. Rancid mentally cursed and raced after the green bird, still thinking of his revenge...

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 (space breaker, part cutter...)

It is said by many of their forefathers and ancestors that their lives depended upon the human race. Their entire existence depended on it. But many opposed the saying, and often retorted that they'd rather die than contact the help of a human being. But some didn't wish their brethren to be the object of desecration, and now flew over the strange, labyrinth city known to the human kind as "Jump City."

While flapping his black, shiny wings gracefully, showing the full extent of it's power, one asked, "How will we know the one spoken of in the prophecy?" Silence reigned for a while, until a comrade finally answered, "We will know." And with that, the big ravens continued on their journey, searching for the one that was meant to help them.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Johnny ran full on into Beast Boy, not even noticing that the elf was right in front of him. They both fell, both silently cursed.

"Why are you standing there?" Johnny questioned, his voice harsh and bitter with anger.

"Why... are they doing this? What happened to them?" Beast Boy continued murmuring, appearing to not of heard Johnny's question.

"What?" The biker asked, now confused. Beast Boy pointed forward with a trembling finger, whimpering slightly. There, fighting before them, was the Titans East.

While Rancid and Dr. Light had been deciding what to do about Bob, Robin had noticed a change in the air, like it had mysteriously sprouted an illness of some kind. Searching for the source, he had found a man hidden in shadow, facing the ocean and clenching his hands into fists. Robin realized what was happening, and jumped towards the figure, but struck when it was too late, the ocean had lost its control and had created a tsunami right in front of them. Robin pounced and struck the man against the chest, knocking him out of the shaded area and into the post light. Robin gaped in shock as he realized that an honorary titan was the person he had caught. It was Aqualad. Noticing the boy wonder's slight hesitation and surprise, Aqualad threw Robin off him and placed a well aimed kick in Robin's face. Robin grunted in pain, and began a close combat with the water powered "hero".

Robin had finally succeeded in wrestling Aqualad down, and was about to inject a fluid into Aqualad to knock him out when Robin was hit hard on his back, and was thrown off Aqualad again. But not by the water controller at all. Slightly confused, Robin turned to his attacker, and nearly passed out in shock.

"Speedy? What is going on? Why is Aqualad..." Robin trailed off as Speedy prepared one of his special arrows on his bow. Robin remembered faintly a conversation which he had with Speedy before about the arrows.

_"So how do you distinguish_ _which type of arrow they are?" Robin asked in interest, not telling the difference between the arrows placed neatly on the countertop, placed in sets of five depending on their power._

_"Well, each has different colored fletched feathers placed on them, to show what they are. The light blue ones here, for example, are the ice arrows. Red is fire, white is for nets, yellow is for temporary flashes, and this one..." Speedy indicated a black fletched arrow, "is very like your explosive disks, but multiply the magnitude by 9 and you get the power of these." Robin nodded, wondering exactly what the black arrow could possibly be used for._

And now, about 5 months after the talk, here Robin was looking face to face with one of those black arrows. Since his explosive disks were enough to knock someone out, the arrow would probably knock him into a coma, or worse, kill him. Speedy strung the arrow back, and gave a small smirk at the kneeling leader which made no move to escape his deadly accurately aligned arrow. Just as he released the string, something blasted the arrow and caused it to detonate. Speedy was violently thrown backwards into a nearby dumpster, making an indent at impact. A yell of pain issued before he lost consciousness.

Robin just stared at the smoldering spot that Speedy had been standing just a minute before. What happened? Something oddly familiar had struck that arrow, caused it to explode, but where did it come from? It couldn't of been her... He had seen her lying deeply injured on the white bed, giving an expression of such pain that he couldn't bear it and left after a friend persuaded him to get some rest.

"R...Robin?" Her familiar voice called to him. Robin blinked back unshed tears, threatening to splatter and thoroughly ruin his mask. He had to be in a dream. The arrow must have hit him, and now was in a deep coma, hearing what he so desperately wanted to hear and see.

"Robin! Oh Robin, please respond..." The voice echoed in his mind until he couldn't hold it any longer.

"Starfire?" His voice asked, barely a whisper. Starfire suddenly came into view, kneeling down so they could make level eye contact.

"I am here, friend Robin. But Cyborg needs our help. He has been fending off the Titans of the East, and I do not know how much longer our hybrid friend can withstand!" That snapped him back into reality. There she was in perfect condition, not a scratch on her. Her emerald eyes pleaded him to come with him, but also hope and joy flooded through them at the sight of the boy wonder. _"Eyes are the mirror to the soul."_ Raven had once said, and Robin knew it was true. That was a reason why he wore the mask, to conceal himself from his friends, passerby, enemies... everyone. He didn't want his secret to be let out, didn't want anyone to see his soul. Drawing his attention away from his mind, Robin flashed a small smile at Starfire, and offered his hand out to her. She accepted it and allowed him to help her up.

"Let's go find Cyborg." Robin stated. Starfire nodded and lifted Robin into the air, using the joyous thought of being with Robin pull her through.

And that's how everything resulted in what Johnny and Beast Boy witnessed now. Cyborg was attempting to blast Aqualad with his sonic cannon, but Aqualad would merely dodge and hurl a water ball at him, most times not missing its target and knocking the hybrid off his feet.  
Starfire was soaring through the air at alarming speeds, trying to throw her opponent off her tail. But the effort came to no avail, and Bumblebee rushed behind her, every once in a while trying to strike Starfire down with her B-lasers. (The things she used in Wavelength... lol)

Lastly, Robin was facing off with Mas y Menos. Robin never landed a blow on them, due to their lightning fast movements, but they pummeled him to the ground often, knocking into him and hitting him into walls at random. He knew that to win, he had to separate them, but how? They were hardly visible at all, only a blur of where they had been could be distinguished, and striking that would just be pointlessly punching empty air. As another blow from the Spanish speaking pair knocked him off his feet, Robin wished that Raven was here, using her black telekinesis to strip apart Mas y Menos' firm grip on each other and blast them to bits. But Raven was still in the infirmary...

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The group of ravens flashed quickly across the night sky, searching for their savior. Blending in with the darkness, nothing grew suspicious of the unusually large group traveling the streets and alleyways of Jump. When they reached their starting point, a few sighed in sorrow.

"The human should have been here! But alas, it has deserted us! Our fellow brethren were right, it was foolish to trust the..." the raven stopped when it received harsh cold looks from its comrades.

"We have not gone everywhere," said one, "look over there." It shrugged its shoulders dismissively off to the right. Curious, the whole group looked at what was indicated, and each flapped its wings once as it showed its disapproval.

"It would not be there!" exclaimed one. "The human is mighty and would not reside in such a vile looking building!" Silence engulfed the group as it just stared at the T-shaped building before them, built on it's lonely and desolate island.

"It's worth a try, though." cawed one, and took off into the air, heading towards the lone tower. The rest soon joined him, and glided off to their only hope...

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: Appropriate place to stop, I was going to add on what happens next but realized it wouldn't be right if I did, so I left it how it is now. I hope everyone who read this enjoyed the chapter, I actually took more than an hour to type it. Smiley At first, when I was writing the beginning, I was wondering how worse I could make it, and then realized, that rereading it afterwards, it sounded pretty good. Heh, Beast Boy can be so evil at times... Anyway, its time to obey that button at the bottom left corner of this screen... Review... 2500 words exactly! Yay me, Yay!


	11. The Ravens Prophecy

Sorry for the uber long wait, but I've been very busy (and I'm still not done with homework ) But I was determined to get this story done, even if I don't get a review... Time for the recommended authors of the day! All are great writers, and you should read their stories:

Brit The Mighty- Plots are always interesting, and it makes you want to read more (I've been waiting for an update BTM, you know D)

Insanity 101- The master at writing drama and suspense. My personal favorites are Aftereffects and its sequel, Broken, but all stories are very well written.

thSamurai- Really good at writing crossovers. I highly recommend "Dreamcatcher", a crossover between TT and Harry Potter. Very well done, and if you do read this thSamurai, please update soon! It's getting really good :D.

Post- Do I even need to state why? Great at writing stories from different perspectives, from both first person to third person. "These Black Eyes" and "The Things Raven Sees" are the best in my opinion. If you ever need something to do during the summer, I suggest reading "These Black Eyes". Since, after all, it has 237 chapters, which is 2033933 words long. It'll take me another 12 years for all my stories to reach that number altogether, so I congratulate him on his dedication to typing to his fans.

Golden-Sama- Excellent writer who definitely knows how to get you guessing what's going to happen next. I highly recommend "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere For You" each character gets a lot of airtime (never neglected or not used) and the plot is captivating. Hope you update soon!

CidGregor- Writer of the beloved, "Clash of the Titans". Very good story, like the other authors I highly recommend this story for its interesting storyline, and has there ever been a story bad that has Malchior in it? D

Now before I completely forget what I was going to type in this chapter, lets begin!

Note: There is Spanish in here, so if you don't understand it, I'll have the translations at the end on my AN.

Chapter 11: The Ravens Prophecy

The group flew over the calm bay of the open ocean, their shadows silently streaking across its illuminated vastness. Lights from the taller buildings of Jump stretched into its dark interior, making it gleam with an eccentric ness that it would never usually show. But attention was not drawn to the beauty underneath them, rather it was directed in front of them. A large, silent T shaped tower loomed over the tiny island that was its host, to hold its structure to the ends of time. It was dark, as if not a single occupant existed within it's boundaries. But of course, that was not the case.

The ravens hovered and landed on the rocks before the open sea, looking up at the monstrous sized building with unease. Now that they had crossed the channel, and the entire city for that matter, what were they to do?

"We are now all gathered near the last hope of our brethren. Let the moon shine forth and approve our choice!" the biggest of the black birds called, indicating that it would be the leader. The caws of the ravens died down, and all looked into the cloudy night sky, searching for any clue to where the moon might be. Minutes passed, and their passion dwindled like the slowly dimming lights of Jump. Had they made the wrong decision? Was their desecration to become a reality?

"Look!" the youngest of the group called out in excitement. The gloating birds slowly looked up, and made a short caw of delight as the moon shone upon them, separating the clouds just to reveal it's crater-like surface. The leader, _Merlov_, called for silence to strategize their quest.

"I say we fly around the windows and look for the human that way. I hear they like to look upon the outside world, though most refuse to leave their cage for the haven that surrounds them." One suggested, looking towards the rest of the group. Most nodded in approval, and the bird's heart filled up with pride at the thought.

"I say we also get in this human's nest." _Merlov's_ general, _Karik_ said.

"But how?" cawed one.

"Through what the humans call, a "Ventilation Shaft". I do not know what it is supposed to do, but I hear that these 'shafts' usually go all around the nest, within every "room" and surface." _Karik_ replied with wisdom.

"You must study them thoroughly, _Karik_," said one mockingly, "wanting to become one someday?"

"We might as well become one, moron. Nearly every race except the humans and close allies of them are going to die." Silence protruded from _Karik's_ last comment, all of them thinking of what their general had just pointed out. Realization struck them all, and most began to caw loudly in their distress.

"Now is not the time to be enshrouded in our worries," _Merlov_ interrupted, batting his wings out disapprovingly. "We must find these "ventilation shafts" quickly. _Karik_, you will lead the 2nd division, and your main objective is to look for the openings to these shafts. I will lead the other division, searching through every window for the human. All set? Move out!"

And with that, all birds took to the air to accomplish their objective, or at least try.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Robin clenched his teeth to suppress a howl of pain as he was brutally knocked, once again, into a brick wall. Now that the sun was down, it was even harder fighting the Spanish-speaking twins, who so easily kicked his butt by using speed.

"Tú quedaste poseído!" Mas exclaimed, and Menos burst into mild fits of laughter as they rushed forwards to deliver the final blow.

"¡Detente, alto! Afróntame." A rough Spanish sentence sounded. Mas y Menos skidded to a halt, both of them showing faint surprise. There was another Spanish-speaking person in this city? They seemed to be struggling within themselves, as if trying to regain control. Suddenly they both gave out a yell and fell over, muttering something no one could understand, except for one person. And that was...

"Johnny? You can speak Spanish?" Robin's voice hid no surprise. There was much more to the gangster-like biker than it seemed.

"Heh, I was forced to learn it when I was younger." Johnny shrugged, as if it was one of the easiest things in the world. For him, it probably was. Robin looked over the the twins, who were talking to each other wearily, each in a mild state of confusion.

"They are asking what happened, and why are they at the docks in Jump? They seem lost." Johnny responded, listening in on the conversation conversed between the pair.

"¿Recuerdas tú cualquier cosa?" Johnny asked, walking up to Mas y Menos.

"No recuerdo ..." Mas answered, not thinking Johnny of any danger because he stood next to Robin.

"Lo que él dijo." Menos replied, dusting himself of the dirt that clung to his white outfit.

"Though I don't know Spanish, it sounded like Mas doesn't remember, and I had no idea what Menos said." Robin said to Johnny, looking for the real translation to the twins' sentences.

"Basically you got it right, both of them don't remember anything." Johnny told him, shaking his head. "But that means that if they can be brainwashed, so can we..." Robin thought about that, but gave a small grin.

"But if they got out of it, so can everyone else."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"It is here, here!" A raven from _Karik's_ division croaked. Instantly the general flew to his side, and looked to where the small black bird was pointing at. Sure enough, the ventilation shaft was there, but at a very odd location. It was on the roof of the tower, not at its sides like a normal human nest.

"The human definitely lives in an unusual place!" It cawed out jokingly, laughing out a little. _Karik_ nodded.

"Agreed. Now you need to do one last thing before I can recommend your promotion, _Lorak_..."

"What's that?" he said eagerly.

"Help!" _Lorak_ turned to look at what _Karik_ was doing. _Karik_ had latched his claws on the shaft door, and it was groaning as it was slowly being moved, but anything could tell it wasn't going to break free. _Lorak_ instantly attached himself to the door, and began to heave, using his wings to pull up. Both were soon gasping in exhaustion from the exertion from the effort.

"One... more..." _Karik_ breathed out, "1... 2... 3!" At the signal both tripled their efforts, and with a resounding screech, the door burst off its nails and into the air with the pair. They dropped it and stopped to perch on the edge of the now open tunnel, both trying to regain composure to address the other ravens. Finally, after a few minutes, _Karik_ and _Lorak_ were ready to announce their find, and went to find _Merlov. _After a few minutes of searching, they found their leader hovering before the biggest window, which revealed the main room of the tower.

"Very complex, these humans. I've never seen anything like it..." _Merlov_ was whispering to himself. _Karik_ paused his approach when he heard this. Were these humans so different from the rest of humanity that even the leader noticed it? Karik made his prescence known by a small caw, which deverted the leader's attention towards him.

"We found the shaft, _Merlov_. Rather, _Lorak_ did." _Karik_ said, and told him about their success of opening the shaft. The leader of the ravens asked to lead the way, and the general did not object. _Karik _gave a shrill call to the other ravens, letting it echo off the walls and rocks before flying up to the roof of the tower. When all of them had gathered, Merlov called for silence and the chatter slowly died down once more.

"How do we know we are going the right way?" Asked a curious raven, who, known to it's brethren, was _Snevar._

"We don't," _Karik_ announced, "but since there are many of us, we shall split up when another way is revealed, and it will be a process of elemination until we find it." No one questioned _Karik's_ approach, it was the most sensible plan they had, so everyone stuck to it. One by one, they jumped into the metal tunnel, and hovered slowly downwards, until only Karik was left, watching the others sluggishly go down the shaft. He gave himself one reassuring look at the moon before following.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Starfire!" Beast Boy yelled, attempting to catch the injured red head before she crashed into a nearby dumpster. But his efforts came to no avail, as a ferocious blast of water knocked him over and dragged him into the ocean. Aqualad smirked as a loud clang was heard from the open trash can, but quickly his smirk disappeared as he realized that he couldn't breathe. He grabbed and pulled uselessly on the thick, scaly like substance on his neck. He gave a small cry and fell unconscious onto the ground. Beast Boy reverted back to human form, a smug look upon his face. He had just suffocated an honorary titan, and he knew that was the wrong thing to do, but...

It felt good. Really good. Revenge is sweet, it really is. But, he questioned himself, is it worth dying for? His question was never answered as something hit him on his back hard and threw him face first into the wall. He slumped unconsciously to the floor, out for the count.

"BB!" Cyborg exclaimed, and found BB's attacker on top of a small warehouse building. Of course, it was Speedy, his deadly aim accurate and effective. Cyborg gave him a look of such pure disdain and hatred that it made Speedy laugh.

"Not gonna miss him anytime soon, aye?" Speedy mocked, jumping down from his perch on the building. That was a bad mistake, as a titanium fist collided with his face, causing him to fly across the dockyard and sprawl limp on the ground. Cyborg also had a strange feeling as Beast Boy did, and he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Whatever it was, he knew it was bad, yet... he liked the feeling. He forgot his thoughts and ran over to Beast Boy's fragile form, and stooped slightly to pick him up. He went off to find Robin, not knowing that Starfire was still within the dumpster...

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

They had nearly gone through the whole tower without much luck until a loud caw of success grabbed everyone's attention. The ravens, spread out across the building, heard the call echoing and went off to seek their comrade. When _Karik_ and _Merlov_ arrived, they found that the cawing came from _Snevar, _who was batting away at another of the shaft's doors. No one needed to ask if he found the human, because it's aura floated up upon them, acknowledging their prescence. _Karik_ and _Lorak _repeated their tactic on the door, this time with _Snevar_ helping. It easily came undone, not bolted down as hard as the one on the roof was. Soon the whole clan of ravens swooped down into the room, examining their surroundings. The room was a blinding white, and the ravens stuck out like sore thumbs in the place. _Karik's_ eyes drifted over _SOMO_, Cyborg's creation, until his small dark orbs focused on the last bed in the row. Blue cloth draped off the sides, it's design encrusted in dirt that had long settled within it.

_Merlov_, _Karik,_ and _Lorak_ flew towards the bed, and stopped at the base of it. Were they committed on going through with this? The answer was...

Yes. They had come too far, and just seeing the blue cloth had risen their hopes high beyond it had ever been before. Nodding to each other, the 3 birds flew up and perched on the side of the bed, before giving out an angry cry.

The condition and appearance of Raven was very distraught. Still being glued to the bed, she hadn't moved position in hours, and her muscles were beginning to cramp up, and the dirt clung to every part of her clothes, making her look monstrous. Scars covered her persona and the bandage that hid her large wound was drenched in dried-up blood that should of been cleaned hours ago. The ravens gave a howl of displeasure. In the current state this human was in, their desecration was going to happen even sooner than expected.

"The human is unwell! We are doomed!" _Lorak_ cried, openly bawling out his distress. He had not yet seen Raven's emblem, but it didn't matter to him, for he thought everything was doomed.

"Never mind that, Lorak. We have to get this... female, if I recall, off of this nest." _Karik _took charge, and began picking off the dirt from the cloak to get Raven unstuck. He pulled and accidently ripped parts of the blue cloth, but did it really matter? The leader and a few other ravens came in to help, but most just watched in fear. They had never been this close to a human before, and this one had an odd feeling about it...

Finally, after a few minutes of rough picking, fabric ripping, and caws of distress, they had completed their task. All on top of Raven flapped off in shock as she began to float above the bed, and some of those nasty scars magically disappeared. They all stared in disbelief. That was impossible! Everything went quiet as Raven gently landed on the bed, and her face scrunched was a sign of her waking up. She bolted straight up and clutched her head in pain, a killer headache forming in the depths of her mind. She untied the bandage on her waist, and let it slip off. Her side was as good as new. No signs of getting shot or anything. It was like nothing had ever happened, but of course, it did happen. Her violet eyes protruded the dark, when she heard a rustle of wings and flashed her gaze in that direction. She then realized that the ventilation shaft's door was on the floor and black shapes were surrounding it on all sides. She couldn't really distinguish what they were, but she knew they were birds by the sounds they made. Raven examined herself once more and noticed that her cloak had a lot of holes in it, that were obviously recent. Not that she cared anyway. She turned back and looked at three figures coming towards her. They seemed to levitate upwards a bit before landing with a soft plop next to her.

"Caw! Caw!" The biggest one (_Merlov)_ spoke. They stared at her expectantly. Raven sighed. She knew she would have to use her mind powers to understand them, but she really didn't want to duplicate the pain in her head anyway. This better be worth it, one part of her said. Of course it is! There are about 20 ravens in the room, why wouldn't it be? another exclaimed. Raven focused, and made eye contact with the little black orbs that stared back at her.

_Could you repeat that? I couldn't really understand it the first time._

The leader seemed to glare in shock, and wondered how she penetrated his mind. But knowing that telepathy was the only way they would understand, _Merlov _thought back:

_Are you the one?_

Now it was Raven's turn to be confused. She had never talked to a raven before, but that wasn't the first thing she expected them to say to her. What were you expecting them to say anyway? she thought to herself. She realized that she didn't expect them to say anything at all, so she dropped the subject and started to think about how to reply.

_The one of what?_

_The one to save us from him..._

Him? Who was he? Raven quickly went over the history of the raven, and then figured, if I'm the "One" then it wouldn't be just about their history. It would have to be my past... It then struck her what _Merlov_ meant. Him could only be one person. Trigon, of course.

_The demon of red eyes..._

The leader looked up at her, and gave a sharp nod. It then screeched shrilly, causing all of the birds to react with one of their own screams. Raven covered her ears, the headache intensified. It seemed an enternity before it stopped, and Raven's head pounded long after that.

_A vision has come! A disasterous and terrible fate awaits us all!_

_Merlov_ could barely contain himself, angry, resentment, and sadness engulfing him. Raven just stared at him, patience being her key element. Looking up and seeing her expressionless gaze, _Karik_ was speechless. How could she be so calm? _Merlov_ finally continued.

_Flames and pure darkness will unite, and the earth will be naught... _

Raven stared motionlessly onwards, thinking about what he just said. Flames and pure darkness... _Merlov_ wasn't done yet, however.

_Orange and black will become half and half, and it's eye will shine._

That totally gave it away to Raven, and she gave a small gasp.

"No..." This was bad. She knew what the ravens wished of her, and she didn't know if she could do it alone. How was she going to defeat her worst two enemies when they were together?

That's for you to figure out...

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: Time for some translations!

"Tú quedaste poseído!" - You got owned!

"¡Detente, alto! Afróntame." Stop, stop! Face me.

"¿Recuerdas tú cualquier cosa?"- Do you remember anything?

"No recuerdo ..." - I don't remember...

"Lo que él dijo." - What he said.

Heh, not much, is it? I made sure I didn't do too many sentences in Spanish, or you (if you couldn't read Spanish) would be confused. Did anyone notice how _Snevar _is actually ravens backwards? Yeah, I felt smart about that, lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please, please review! I love reviews :D


	12. Awkward Feelings

Thanks to everyone that reviewed (or read and didn't review, I know there were some of you out there) and now that internet has gone totally wacky I've decided to write Chapter 12 while it's not working so when it comes up again I'll be able to post . See, I do still care.

Oh and CrazyDeafGirl: I have read your story (Remember the Titans, I think it was) but my computer has been a major pain and refuses to let me leave a review! This computer is getting really frustrating, especially now that summer has come and temperatures are high, meaning a lot of sudden overheating warnings and shutdowns...

Here is the lovely Chapter 12 you've all been waiting for!

Chapter 12: Awkward Feelings

"Robin? Where are you man?" Cyborg yelled, becoming frustrated at the lack of his leader's appearance. Beast Boy wasn't in a good condition, a nosebleed had started and his cheeks were welling up. That, and he was still unconscious. Concern and grief for his little green friend attacked Cyborg like never before. He had only been this sad when...

"Hola!" a fluent Spanish speaker interrupted his thoughts. Cyborg took a glance downwards to reveal Mas, his outfit roughed up a bit but otherwise fine. Cyborg didn't even make the effort to reply to the miniature crime fighter, just walked right past him and continued onwards, heading towards the T-Car. Mas caught up with him and stood in his way, shouting out stuff in Spanish that Cyborg did not have the time to translate.

"Get out of the way, Mas!" Cyborg yelled, so loud that Mas stopped right in his tracks and stared at Cyborg speechlessly.

"Seńor Robin..." the redhead murmured, just as the cybernetic teen passed him. This time Cyborg stopped.

"Where? Tell me where!"

"..."

"Darn it! Mas, Beast Boy's in trouble and your delaying any assistance to save him!"

"Assist.. assistance?"

"Yes, need I spell it out for you?"

"..."

And was all Cyborg could get out of Mas before Mas hightailed it and ran off. Cyborg grumbled, his temper was growing increasingly harder to control. He felt really bad about his outburst, but right now, he had no time to lose. He set the unconscious Beast Boy in the back row of seats, scanned his condition, and cursed vividly out loud. Beast Boy was having a serious concussion, and it would dive into a coma if he didn't hurry. Slamming his foot onto the accelerator, Cyborg sped off towards Titan's Tower...

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Squawk! Caw! Squawk Caw! Squawk! Caw! Squawk Caw!

The ravens' chattering doubled Raven's headache pains. Raven was getting very mad, and the three birds before her could see it. _Karik _wondered why the female could remain so calm when the terrible prophecy was spoken, but be so mad when his comrades spoke so little. It made absolutely no sense to him at all.

"_Silence!"_ Their leader commanded, and instantly everything went quiet.

"_But wha.. what is that dreadful sound? It's loud enough to make the windows shatter." Lorak_'s words were acknowledged, and many strained to hear what_ Lorak_ had heard. Soon, everyone, including Raven, finally grasped the sound.

"Hide yourselves!" Raven told them, waving her hands to shoo them away. Many scattered back into the ventilation shafts, hidden from view. However, _Merlov_ and _Karik_ stayed behind.

"_What is it?" Merlov_ asked curiously.

"It's a flying car." Raven answered, looking at the window. The two birds widened their eyes in surprise and turned to look at each other. A flying _car!_ The ravens bowed low to the lavender haired Azarathian, then flew off to join their comrades. Raven herself laid low, literally. She plopped back down on the bed she was earlier stuck on and pulled an actor's maneuver: sleepily tired looking eyes, straining to focus, and head in obvious pain. At least she didn't have to act that out, it really was.

The window seemed to flip open and Cyborg lightly stepped onto it, before grabbing his passenger out of the back seat. Built by a brilliant construction team, the tower could withstand many frontal assaults. The windows were no exception, and could easily hold Cyborg's weight.

Raven could hear Cyborg muttering to himself, rushing over to the bed parallel to her own. _That's Beast Boy's bed…_ Raven thought, and held her pose longer.

"T-Car!" Raven heard him say, "Park yourself up!" The metallic blue car grunted in reply and slowly floated down to the garage entrance. _When did Cyborg install that?_ Raven asked herself, but could find no answer. _I really need to get to know my friends more... _Cyborg hooked up a few things on Beast Boy's figure and watched BB's heart pulse. He knew that the damage to his head could stop functioning the brain, and even those few seconds the brain stalled could be lethal. "I wish Raven were here..." the hybrid murmured, and Raven's skin tingled in surprise. He really was missing her? Managing to keep her pose, Raven's mind raced. Just then Cyborg stole a glance over to her, and gasped in shock. Violet, unfocused eyes were staring back at him. Ensuring that Beast Boy was alright, he rushed over to her bed.

"RAVEN! You're awake!" His happiness for her really made Raven wonder. She had thought that nobody had ever cared for her...

"Cy... Cyborg?" She purposely stuttered, acting out her part.

"Yeah, Rae. I'm here." He said comfortingly. Cyborg went to hold her hand when he brushed against her cloak and found a hole in it. "Raven... Why are there so many holes on your cloak?" Raven slowly sat up and examined her attire. She gave out the most confused look she could muster and turned to Cyborg.

"I... don't know." Raven replied, sad inside for her dishonesty towards him. Cyborg lifted the blue fabric off the bed gently and looked at the missing pieces stuck on the bed.

"Think you had a bad night, Rae. Must have tossed and turned a lot." Cyborg drew out his conclusion, and Raven felt relief within her aura. Cyborg was just going to let the issue drop. Raven watched as Cyborg lifted himself up and strolled over to the next bed over. Raven focused her senses to find out who it was, and instantly wished she hadn't.

There, of course, was Beast Boy, in a terrible state. His heart pulse was beating very slowly, so his brain was still functioning... for now. Raven jumped up suddenly and was about to rush over when her legs buckled and she fell over.

"Stupid son of a..." Raven cursed out loud, making Cyborg's mouth drop. Raven never cursed. At least, not that badly. And vividly. Raven stopped and the silent room was filled with slow, resounding beeps. It was eerie to the titanic titan and so he dismissed the silence with his own voice.

"Uhh... Need help, Raven?" Cyborg politely asked, offering his hand down to her. She grabbed onto it and he hauled her back up. Using Cyborg as support, she hobbled over to the bed. Just seeing the green titan there made Raven very depressed. Though she convinced herself again and again that no one here loved her, she knew it wasn't true. The torturous mind just filled up with agonizing memories and everyday annoyances to keep her thoughts of love at bay. But now, her mind cleared, and Beast Boy's love shined at her. She felt sick, seeing him like this.

"I could of prevented this..." Raven muttered, tightening her grip on the steel pole that was attached to the bed.

"No, you couldn't have. You were and still are in no condition to do anything." Cyborg attempted to sooth her, but Raven flourished in both anger and resentment.

"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do!" Raven raged, letting go of Cyborg. Cyborg stepped backwards and noticed Raven's eyes flash a dark red before reverting back to normal. She breathed in deeply, her lungs on fire from the yelling just a second before. "Cyborg... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"I know, Raven. I know." Cyborg patted her on the shoulder lightly. Raven repeated the words that Cyborg had said earlier in her mind, and suddenly everything clicked. She had a good idea, and it would be extremely dangerous, not to mention painful, but it was worth it.

"Cyborg."

"Yes Rae?"

"I'm going to need a lot of painkillers."

_To Be Continued…_

Author's Note: Yay for short chapter! One of my shortest in this story… but I wrote it just to show you guys that I haven't given up! Woohoo! So now, you know you want to click that review button… yes you do, you know it and you can't deny it! Go on...

Oh yeah, I'll get to Robin later. So do not wonder! Well, do wonder, because after all, he is the BOY wonder. P. jk. Review please!


	13. Close Calls

Sorry for another long delay, I've been having a rather... interesting summer, and let's keep it at that. Now, onwards!

Chapter 13: Close Calls

"RRRAHHHH!" Robin yelled a battle cry as he swooped downwards, bo-staff in hand. A loud clang of metal resounded as it met the concrete floor.

"Losing your touch, eh, Robin?" A taunting girl's voice laughed, coming from above.

"Bumblebee, snap out of it. This isn't who you really are!"

"How would you know? You don't know anything."

"..."

"See, no reply needed. Now stand still so I can blast you." She powered up her B-Guns, the weapons shining yellow with the energy. Robin narrowed his eyes, and held ready.

"Hah!" Bumblebee yelled out, releasing the stored energy upon the boy wonder. Robin smirked, and spun off to the side, still clutching his staff. Bumblebee mumbled something about annoyances before speeding towards the team leader, her wings flapping hard. Without realizing what she had dove herself into, Bumblebee prepared to punch Robin, and to minimize herself. But she didn't know that the staff he bore had already made it's counterattack, and strung her right in the face.

She stopped, surprise filling up her features. That, and now her head felt really hot and touchy from the blow.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Bumblebee snarled, her brown eyes reflecting danger and pure uncontrolled anger.

"Welcome back, B."

"Huh?"

And so Robin quickly explained what had gone on before, and Bumblebee nodded in understanding.

"So, if I was fighting Starfire, where is she?"

It finally hit Robin that he hadn't seen any of his team at all since he started fighting the Titans East. He felt like a total jerk now, completely irresponsible and inconsiderate of his fellow team mates.

"Uhh..."

"You don't know."

Robin bit his lower cheek and nodded.

"Well, since everyone seems to be alright, and I don't sense any fights going on, it's safe to say they went on home."

"?"

"Oh right, you wouldn't think that because you're the team leader. Knowing that I probably led you away from the others and got separated, they didn't know where you were, and head on home."

"But without me?"

"Something bad must of happened, idiot. I wonder if..." She got cut off as a spinning whirlwind came upon them, coming to a halt just inches away from the pair. It was the Spanish duo, talking very fast and pointing in every direction.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there! Try again slowly." Bumblebee said, making her hands gesture the meaning of slow by dropping them down slightly. The pair looked at her, and then at Robin. Mas then widened his eyes, and started rapidly speaking again.

"What is it? I don't understand that language..." He murmured, and Mas calmed down. Then Mas got an idea, and pulled out his communicator.

"Of course! That was too obvious." But Mas wasn't done, and continued. Using his own as an example, he tore off the back and pointed at it.

"Whoa, don't break it! Only Cyborg could repair such a thing, and I don't think he has the time..." Mas sighed, exasperated. Robin seemed to notice, and then thought about what he just said. Cyborg... of course!

"Okay, I get it, where did Cyborg go?"

Mas imitated a growling tiger, emitting off a puny squeak as he did so. Bumblebee raised her eyebrow questioningly. Then Mas acted like a horse, then mouse, and finally cat.

"Beast Boy. That's who you're referring to, correct?"

Mas nodded. And then grabbed Menos, and started speeding around the place.

"So, they got in the T-Car and left. How convenient." Mas stopped, and realized that he had forgotten one last thing. He fell to the ground dramatically, and acted unconscious. Not a breath could be seen or heard. Menos blinked at his brother. _What a moron.. _

"We have to get back to the tower. That's where they all are. But first, I think we should round up Speedy and any others."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Cyborg, deciding not to decline the determined girl's request, went to get a box of painkillers. What did she think she'd be able to do, anyway? In her current condition she could only make things worse... But he knew that she was willing to try, even at the expense of herself. He never knew she valued their friendship so much...

He came back with the box a minute later, noticing the scene ahead of him hadn't changed. Raven was still clutching the railing, staring hard into Beast Boy's unconscious face, something stirring beneath her eyes. Cyborg studied her for a moment. A sparkle appeared under one eye. Was that a tear?

"Raven, I've got them." He announced his arrival, noting how hastily she wiped away the trickle that had just gone down her cheek. _Guess she's hoping I didn't notice. Oh well, I'll play along with it._

"Thanks, Cyborg, I appreciate it." She replied coolly, and took the box from his strong grip, and popped open the top.

"Glad I could help out a friend." Cyborg said calmly, sitting down beside the bed. He had done all he could do. He had tried all his latest technological gizmos, and none had worked. It was up to Raven to cure Beast Boy now.

She got into a meditating position, levitated off the ground, and began chanting her mantra softly. She then moved her right hand over to Beast Boy's face, and softly let it touch his skin. She shivered at the touch. She looked at Cyborg once, and gave a reassuring nod that she knew what she was doing. Cyborg didn't do anything, he just watched the Azarathian hover off the ground, black energy crackling in a ring below her.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." She repeated it over and over, her voice calm and her feelings compressed. If she messed up now, Beast Boy was doomed. Feeling her conscience drift, she empowered the incantation ever more, saying it louder and louder with each turn. And then.. darkness. She couldn't feel a thing, and just hovered in black space...

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Beast Boy was scared. No, scratch that, terrified. He had no idea where he was, or even how he got there. All he could recall was strangling a helpless Aqualad before everything became dark. But the place certainly wasn't the docks. He couldn't hear, see, or smell the saltwater anywhere nearby. All that was before him was a large expanse of trees, and it almost seemed never-ending by how the light betrayed it.

"I've got to get out of here, I've got to get out..." He kept telling himself, encouraging himself onwards through the maze of forest that surrounded him. "Raven needs me..." He walked on for quite a while, nothing being out of the ordinary from a normal forest. But he knew that this wasn't a normal forest. It had a weird feeling to it, and something was missing...

The birds weren't calling. They weren't singing to each other for companionship, as mating season (as he last remembered) had begun. And that struck him odd, for being in a luscious, everlasting area. He heard a growl rise from behind him, and turned to meet the challenge.

It was a wolf. Not just a wolf, but the biggest one he had ever seen. It challenged him unmercifully, saliva slithering down its sharp jaws. And though it was shaped like a gray wolf, it wasn't the color for which it was named. It was completely shaded in different kinds of green.

"Don't mess with me, you don't know who you're up against..." Beast Boy clenched his fists, and began to transform.

Or he thought he was. When he looked down at himself, he was still normal. Still human. Well, as normal as a human he could get. He widened his eyes in fear. A hungry predator was about to lunge at him, and he had no chance to defend himself.

_Awww crap..._

He prepared himself for the worst. If he couldn't fight beast to beast, he'd have to do it the hard way. Beast Boy slightly bowed to the creature, knowing that pride was an essential to any creature. The wolf tipped his head down, amused that his prey was going by the honor code. And then it lunged.

Beast Boy, knowing all the tactics that animals would do in a situation like this, was prepared for the assault. He dived below just as the wolf was about to bear down upon him, and kicked its unprotected belly. As it fell it cried out in pain. It's prey wasn't as stupid as it seemed. It got back on its feet and howled, angry by already revealing its weakness. Beast Boy just smirked. He had learned that move from Robin, during training practice a long time ago. It was one of the toughest spars he had been in, he gruesomely remembered. That was the first time he had sparred Robin, and he had got his butt whipped.

The wolf jumped again, ferocious now that its honor had just been slaughtered. Beast Boy back flipped and then jumped up just as the wolf touched the ground. He brought out his foot in a frontal assault. His shoe slammed into his target's face, and jumped back.

It was stunned. Not only had its weakness been exposed, his pride and battle scarred face was ruined. And blood seemed to be trickling from its muzzle. Beast Boy smiled as yet another memory of a sparring lesson came out. This time it was with Starfire, the alien princess. He was in wolf form, growling at the red haired girl as she hovered above him, just out of reach. She decided to land on the floor a few yards away. He sprinted forwards, prepared to fling his large body upon her. She merely laughed, and did a backspin in the air, before bringing down her foot heavily on his face. When he reverted back to a human, he was nauseous. Blood was flowing freely from his nose, and his eyes were spinning. Starfire gasped.

"Friend! I am ever so sorry! I had never meant to hurt you so!" He remembered how she treated to him immediately, cleaning off the excess blood from his face. "I fear it is broken... I cannot fix it!"

"No need to worry, Starfire, Raven will heal it, I'm sure. Welcome to the team."

"I thank you for this kind welcome! But tell me, who is this, "Raven" of whom you speak of?"

Beast Boy laughed. That was the day she had arrived on Earth, when she was found by Robin. He was her test, and everyone had come to view the fight, except for Raven, who was not interested in it. She just said that she'll meet the new member in the tower.

He came back to the fight at hand with the wolf. Though it was obviously weakened, it would never give up until death. Or a serious beating that would scar it for life. Beast Boy was going to perform the latter of the two. Nothing was worth killing. Was it?

It gave a howl of anger, and flashed with unbelievable speed around him. It went to dive onto his back, when Beast Boy just sidestepped out of the way and kicked the thing in the rear. How odd, how this battle seemed to resemble that of with his friends... Of course, that manuever was what Cyborg had done to him, on one of their first spars against each other ever. Beast Boy was only allowed to pick one creature to turn into, and he decided to be a wolf. He didn't know why, but he always chose the wolf for fighting. Maybe it represented his personality traits in a fight. Or it was his favorite animal. Nevertheless...

The wolf gave another cry of dismay at how easily his prey was taunting him, beating him. How could something that reeked of puniness be so... strong? And wise? It decided to give one last frontal attack, and sped straight towards the green human. Beast Boy tensed, already knowing his next move. But how was he going to pull it off? The wolf panted as it sprinted towards him, tongue lolling out from between his sharp teeth. The blood had stained his fur red, and now there were streaks of where it had drizzled down. This was going to be its last move, and both of them somehow knew it. Just as it had almost succeeded in ramming into Beast Boy, the green human jumped up, and sprang back down, and lashed out his right hand onto its spinning tail. It screeched as Beast Boy stopped its speed rush to a dead halt. Then, with inhuman strength, Beast Boy flung it into the air, spun it above him, and brought it down with a large crash.

He knew that move very well, as it had been performed on him many times. Well, not quite the same as the original, but close enough, given notice that he didn't have her powers. Yes, Raven had done that move on him. Except, she did it solely focusing with her mind. She just gave him the grim, set look everytime, as he either complained how he got his butt kicked, or how it hurt. All she did was stare at him, a complete monotone. It usually was creepy, and he'd stop his tantrums fast. And hitchhike his way back to his room.

That's exactly what the wolf did now, hightailing it back to its den, tail shuffled between its legs. Beast Boy just sighed as he watched it go. He knew that wasn't going to be the last time he was attacked. And without his powers, how would he be able to do it? He could always resort to doing what his friends did on normal occasions against him, but he doubted that he remembered them all. How would he manage an aerial attack? Could he?

_I can, and I will. _And with that, he strolled onwards through the forest, feeling relieved with the soft rain that began to fall.

Author's Note:

Yay, I wrote another chapter! And it was fun doing it too! Maybe I should get back into the writing business... Anyway, please review, I'd love it ever so much!


	14. Well, It Can't Get Any Worse

No, for those that asked, I have no idea what their real birthdays are. I just made up ones that sounded reasonable. Any date would of done, but I picked April 20th for a special reason... Heh, one, it was my friend's b-day, two, it happens to be Hitler's bday also... heh.

And no, this isn't a CyRae fic, but Cyborg may have feelings for Raven, though she and BB are the main pairing. And of course, RobStar. Alrighty, Chapter 14 now up!

_Chapter 14: Well, It Can't Get Any Worse..._

Cyborg watched Raven hover, her eyes closed and softly breathing. No longer was she chanting her incantation. Just drifting, not moving. Cyborg was a bit worried for her, as she'd never done this type of thing before. But he trusted her. It would be all right. He sighed. He was starting to have a feeling while around Raven. He didn't know what it was, but he was concerned. What would he do if it was love? He already knew that she was Beast Boy's. And everyone just assumed that he liked Bumblebee. He couldn't be in any worse situation right now...

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Raven looked at the still nothingness that completely surrounded her. Where was she? Wherever it was, it was making her feel queasy. It spun her around like a lifeless rag doll, contemplating about where to set her. And then, it opened up, and she was thrown into the forest below.

She landed with a crash, being taken by surprise that she wasn't in a lurch anymore. Her head hurt like crazy, and looked down at her left hand. There was a painkiller that she had been clutching while chanting her mantra. She had slipped it out before she began.

_Ugh... Nothing to drive it down. Guess I'll just have to swallow it._ She resentfully popped it into her mouth and tasted the nasty effect it had. She quickly swallowed and nearly barfed. It was sick tasting, and at one point it got stuck in her throat. _I am so going to regret that... _Sitting down, Raven planned her next move. Beast Boy was in here, she was sure of it. But it seemed enormous. How was she going to find him? She'll just have to spread out her senses by meditating. She got into position, and slowly hovered off the ground.

_Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos... Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..._

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Beast Boy was terribly lonely. He had never known how much he valued his friends company, even when they thought his jokes were stupid. Still, he never gave up on them. It was one of his characteristic traits to keep going. Maybe it was a superhero thing, he didn't know. But still, as he walked onwards, the loneliness bit him at every turn. How was he going to get out? Could he?

It was then that he heard a branch snap. He couldn't locate where it was, but he sensed that more than one thing was nearby. He turned around.

_Crud..._

For there was a clan of creatures, all green. A lion and tiger stood at the head, an alligator and a Rhino behind them. Birds outlined the trees, mainly ravens or sparrows, but there was one thing he did not want to see. A Pterodactyl. Its large wings unfolded, and it gave out a shriek. All the other birds screamed in response. The animals below hissed or stomped down in protest.

"What is this place?" It seemed to be a recreation of his mind. All his animal forms were lashing out at him, for no apparent reason at all. Why was this happening? He couldn't face them all. What better way to die then by your own self? He thought about something. Since I defeated the wolf, perhaps it would work if I transformed into it... He concentrated, and felt his body change. Yes! When he defeats a creature, he gets back their form.

"Now its play time." He said confidently. The group seemed a bit nerved by his determination. And then scoffed at him. How did he think he could beat all of them? He was surely outnumbered. The lion stepped forward, and the tiger hissed at him. His pride would not be killed, not yet. The tiger pushed him back and roared. It would be Beast Boy's first opponent. Beast Boy bowed down slightly, the code of honor still in play. The tiger also bowed, honorable and wise. It examined the wolf's posture warily. It seemed very powerful, and quite odd, after all, it had only been a human seconds before. Did it really want to fight him?

The lion growled in anger, and that answered its hesitation. It had no choice. Digging its claws into the soft dirt, it pounced.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Robin and Bumblebee stood together in silence, both thinking about two entirely different things. They had found Aqualad and Speedy, and Bumblebee was concerned for their health, after all, they had found Speedy on the ground next to a brick building, and there was a clear imprint of the impact. Bumblebee asked why Robin's team was so rough to hers. She had a right to wonder, as they also found Aqualad on the ground nearby, barely breathing. Signs of choking were obvious, as a ring was marked around Aqualad's neck. Robin sighed. He didn't know.

"Perhaps my team acted because their lives were on the line." He stated, hoping that he was right.

"Does that give them permission to knock out mine?" Bumblebee shot back. This was not how the two leaders usually acted around each other. Trust and respect was the norm, but not bitter comments that left both sides stinging.

"There's something going on here, Bumblebee. We'll restore these two back to health. Have you seen Starfire anywhere? Or Rancid?"

"Rancid?" She had never met the guy.

"Uhh... He looks like a street biker. Kinda punky." She shook her head. _We'll just have to hope he's okay..._

"I suggest we get back to your tower. Starfire obviously isn't here." But as he nodded in hesitant agreement, his mind stalled. Was she really back at the tower? What happened to her? And where was Johnny?

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Johnny was having a bad day. Not just a bad day, but a really bad day. After splitting up with the green teen, he had been attacked by... something. Not the Titans East, but a group that were dressed up as Ninjas. And though their attire was that of an assassin's, they sucked. He easily wiped a majority of them out in a few simple punches. But being careless for even one second can be lethal, and sure enough, one of the leading ninjas dug a knife into his arm. Johnny winced him pain, feeling his blood roll down his arm. He took the knife out of him and threw it into the water, so it couldn't be used again. He then picked up the ninja and threw him into the wall. He heard a crack and gave a small grin. Nobody gets away with stabbing him. Nobody.

He walked around for a bit, knowing full well that the other Titans were gone. They hadn't even thought of him... how nice of them. He helps them out and in return, he's left in the lurch. Johnny sighed. What was he trying to do, being the good guy? He had been mortal enemies with them for as long as he remembered. And now, suddenly, he's a "friend." Friends worry about friends, not leave them be while they rest happily in their tower. Hatred shined in his eyes. _No, that wasn't the reason. Something else must of happened..._ Rancid kept repeating this in his head. He didn't know the titans well, but they seemed to be the group that cared for others, close contacts or not.

Rancid stopped when he heard a small creak of something metal. He looked around. Nothing was here except a dumpster. What could be in there anyway? He cautiously took a few steps forward. From experience, he knew that something could be lurking nearby, waiting and watching. Johnny didn't sense any danger, and rushed the rest of the distance off until he came to a halt in front of it. He noticed that the bottom was drooping lower than it should be. He finally gave the category of looking under wheeled dumpsters an usual knowledge check. He threw the lid open, and gazed inside.

His mouth dropped. They had forgotten her too? She seemed very frail and weak, and unconscious. Her breathing was shallow. He looked upon what was meant to be flaming red hair. Instead, it was covered in grime, as well as the rest of her body. Her orange skin was now a freakish yellow. He sighed. Something big was going on if they hadn't helped her. Poor girl, she's gonna need a few days rest after this...

He lifted Starfire out of the trash and gave a small smile as she gave a breath of protest. He didn't care that his shirt was covered in the smelling trash that rubbed off her. He looked at the ocean. Maybe he could at least clean her hair, so if she wakes up before they get to the tower she won't totally be grossed out. _Why am I thinking this? Why do I even know this?_ He asked himself. It also seemed to answer easily enough. _You've been checking out girls lately, and they all seem to care most about their hair... And with a red as bright as this, she probably makes sure its in prime condition all the time._ He blinked. Crap, this was getting scary. He was talking to himself in his thoughts. Maybe he himself should take a few days off...

He rinsed her hair in the ocean, making sure not to splash her in anyway. Johnny didn't want her to awaken spluttering from his clumsiness. He ran his fingers through her hair, taking out any grime with them. He didn't know if it was possible, but her hair had shined even more brightly than usual. It almost blinded him, its happiness for being clean vibrating. _I wonder if this happens every time she rinses..._ Johnny widened his eyes. Why was he thinking all this? Was he getting attached to Starfire?

He couldn't. No one would allow it. Not even Starfire, he figured. She was Robin's, that was obvious. _What a lucky guy..._ Johnny then officially cursed out loud. Why was his interests for girls growing? And why did it just have to be Starfire of the Teen Titans? Growling softly in his own dislike, he picked Starfire up and started the long walk to the tower. His motorcycle was ruined in the crash, fooling around with the boy wonder, thus making it impossible to operate. He felt his shirt dampen, and sighed. A shower sounded so good right now...

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Beast Boy jumped out of the way as the tiger sprang at him, hissing and revealing sharp teeth. Beast Boy inwardly sighed. Why did so many of these creatures have to have sharp jaws? The tiger dug into the soft dirt and pulled out of its slide. It turned to face him. Why did the wolf always evade? Any normal wolf would keep show its pride and honor by fighting to the death. This one seemed to know that it would easily die if doing a full frontal assault. So it casually avoided her at every turn. Why didn't it fight? What made it resist the reek of blood that seemed to fill the air?

Some of the birds above had lost interest and had departed, giving Beast Boy a better fighting chance. Rhinos were not an easy business, even if he changed into all the forms that he was sure to gain before fighting him. It seemed hopeless. If he was able to fight the pterodactyl first, he could escape into freedom. But he groaned. How was he meant to even defeat the mystical creature? It was larger than any of the animals here, with the exception of the rhino. As he looked up at it, it glared back with a passion in its eyes like never seen before. If it's comrades didn't finish the job, it was going to make sure it got done. A large raven also hung behind, and Beast Boy studied its talons for a moment, before he used another evading maneuver from the tiger. The beak of the thing looked disasterous. Truly a powerful weapon if used correctly...

He scraped the ground as he dug in his paws. Though his human form wouldn't work very well on a majority of these creatures, his remade wolf might. He gave a long, bone-chilling howl into the sky. It echoed throughout the forest, stirring anything that was resting nearby. And then he changed his defense to offense.

The tiger was definitely not prepared for this sudden change in stature. The tiger was shoved down roughly onto the ground, where its unprotected belly was revealed. Beast Boy was reluctant in doing what he did next, but he knew he had to do it. He bit the underbelly, tasting the fresh blood of its victim. He then slashed a bit with his paws everywhere else, but left the tiger alive, to tell it who was the real boss. After the tiger did a similiar technique of running away like the original wolf, Beast Boy barfed. It was the most nasty taste his poor tongue had ever received. He wished to clense it, but knew that the nearest stream was past the clan that remained, and he daren't risk his life for something that he could do later.

He reverted back to human form, and gave the lion a hard look. It glared back at him unmercifully, as the tiger was actually his friend. He gave a bloodcurling roar, and lions throughout the forest called in reply to the outburst. It watched Beast Boy's every move. Which wasn't much. He just stared right back at his newly made foe, the blood of the fighting feline dripped from his mouth. Beast Boy loathed himself since that bold move. It would take weeks to make his mouth back to normal. He concentrated once more. If his theory was right, he'd be able to transform into a tiger. He felt himself change, and gave an inward sigh of relief. For once his smarts had kicked in.

The newly evolved tiger narrowed its eyes at the challenging leader. They both gave their own battle-cries, and the fight ensued.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Raven stopped her search as howls and roars filled the sky. A breathtaking fight scene was happening between the creatures of this place, that she was sure of. But did it even concern her green friend?

"He stayed beside me while I needed him, I'll repay the favor." And she went off to check it out, floating a few feet off the ground as she went.

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: Wow, another chapter done. I don't know what inspired me to update so fast, maybe it was the fact I actually got reviews, or that this story was getting interesting to write. Half the time I don't know what lies ahead, but writer's block I haven't come across yet. So please Review, everyone loves reviews!


	15. The Raging Wars

This story has become quite popular, I'm happy to say. Sure, there's only 63 reviews, but there's 584 hits to the pages, so OMG PWNED! Heh, I'm in a happy mood. Even when it's currently 3:05am Atlantic Time. So yes, I do not wish to delay my fellow readers any further (as I know you're out there) here is the next chapter! Enjoy!

One last thing... Reviews are the special gifts to writers that make them want to write more! So review peoples!

_Chapter 15: The Raging Wars_

Beast Boy lunged himself forwards, his razor teeth reflecting the sunlight that somehow found its way down through the brush. He dived low and skidded on the soft dirt as the lion went to snap his neck. He wasn't entirely sure how to strategize his approach, as the lion portrayed no signs of any weakness. Due to his constant evasive maneuvers, the remaining animals of the troupe thought him as weak willed and not worth living. Of course, they thought anyone that dared challenge the lion was an idiot, to make it short and simple. They mocked the tiger with their fake caws of pity or their snorts. A hissing sound had also appeared on the scene, as a cobra wound its way up a nearby tree. It watched in anticipation, entirely eager on running it's venom through its foe's veins. It would snap when the pair of leading felines came close, and both would instantly relocate themselves elsewhere. This snake was a friend of no one.

The lion roared and managed to swipe Beast Boy across the face, revealing three wounds that had opened from its sharp claws. It looked gleefully at the ripped fur, seeing some of the red blood appear from its attack. Beast Boy winced in slight pain before renewing himself in determination. Before the lion realized what had occurred, his own face was burning. The tiger had done the same that he had done, but much more aggressive. It snarled out a curse, and its green sleek form was suddenly a mash of both red and green lumped together. Beast Boy didn't look entirely well either, in fact, he shared the same result. But though it pained him, nor did he care, he slammed his own form into that of the huge lion and they both toppled over together.

No longer was the squawks of the flying beasts above full of mockery and trickery, it was of concern. They had never seen their leader so thrashed before. True, not much had happened between the two cats besides a lot of dodging and missed swipes, but the fact that its underbelly was now showing and that it's face was on fire made them wonder if they should still follow his leadership or fall under the new ruling of the tiger. They conversed together within their own tongue, singing songs from ancestors long past of raging wars and cryptic historical events that made their species what it was today. It was traditional to sing in harmony to this during a battle against their leader. Traditions were not easily broken, and this would not be forgotten for another millennia.

Beast Boy indeed did hear the sorrowful and detailed songs of the creatures above. It slightly intrigued him, as he had never seen this practice done before. It also made him wonder, as he could not understand their native tongue due to his current limited form capabilities. He knew that he would never again hear this ceremonial chorus, and honored the song with a deep howl.

The fluffy thing underneath him, however, did indeed recognize the song. And it felt its life threatening to end. The lords of the sky only sang this if they knew that something eventful was going to happen, and a pit dug within his stomach. The tiger above him glared with an expression full of daggers. It felt the hot breath tickle its neck, prepared itself for the end...

But it never came. The lion looked back at the lion, who's eyes sparkled with a new knowledge that didn't seem to exist before. The tiger looked up into the sky and gave a long howl, signaling the end of the leading fighters. A creature knew that when it had surrendered, it had lost the fight. Usually the victor rushed for the kill, however, and the lion was deeply confused at the creature on top of him's actions. Why did it not do the deed that was only righteous for it to do?

It felt itself get flicked on its nose by something furry. Beast Boy had pushed his tail into the bigger feline's face, ordering it to leave. Beast Boy did not feel that he had to taste the blood of another animal. He still felt sickened from the tiger scene, and the blood that was still in his mouth didn't help matters. That, and it was growing sticky...

The lion got up and stared down at the tiger that had just given it a beating. It then did something that no other creature had ever seen it do: it bowed. Low. It's head hung down in respect. It's pride had just been humiliated, and its life was now officially a mess. The tiger also gave a smaller bow in honor of the fight. Even if two completely different species were mortal enemies, the code of a warrior was honored by all. The defeated, though often grumpy or dead at their loss, would have to continue life as a minor, no longer in the high ranks of its clan. The lion did not intend to stay with the birds that laughed and mocked his misery so blatantly. It gave a hopeful look at the rhino and alligator, but both seemed to ignore him. It was hissed at by the snake nearby, its fork-like tongue sticking out in front. The lion passed the snake and gave it a roar, which made the reptile squeeze back next to the safety of the trees. The once proud leader walked away without another word.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Robin was still feeling the sensation that something wasn't right. He knew it from when he first realized that Starfire was missing. And Johnny. He growled in slight anger. Though the alliance with the new good villain had proved useful and strong, he didn't trust or like it that both of them had disappeared, he feared that Rancid might pull something...

"Do you have any idea how we can get back to the tower?" Bumblebee finally decided to point out the obvious. "We're not all going to fit on THAT." She pointed over to Robin's neglected R-Cycle. _Crap._ He hadn't thought of that. There were six of them, and the motorbike was only a two-seater. It would not do.

"Hmm..." The masked leader pondered out different styles of getting them all to the tower as fast as possible. Only one or two seemed possible. Robin went over and carefully balanced out Speedy's weight, hanging the archer's arm over his shoulders. Robin pulled Speedy over to the bike, the unconscious teen's boots dragging across the ground. His sparkling foot-ware would now be trashed by grinding across the concrete. Not that Speedy would know until a few hours later, where he would most likely host a temper tantrum.

Robin hoisted him onto the front, making sure that Speedy didn't fall back over when nothing was there to balance him. Robin glanced over at Bumblebee, who just blinked at him. Then he looked down at the Spanish twins and whispered some words to them. He gave them a wink which Bee didn't notice.

"Hey Bee..." the called teen gave him a questioning look.

"Yes?"

"Go long." Suddenly with a flurry of red and white, the two short twins were gone, racing through the streets of Jump City. At the sound of his own words Robin hopped behind Speedy, and used one of his hands to rev the engine while the other supported the person in front. With a loud roar the R-Cycle took off, and sparks from grinding the ground could be seen from Robin's path.

Bumblebee was silent, gaping. How the hell was she supposed to get Aqualad and herself back to the Titans Tower? She suddenly seemed to remember that she had wings on her back. She sighed, not knowing if she could carry the Atlantian wonder all that distance.

_Well, we've done the impossible before, might as well try now._ She grabbed his limp arms and tested out her strength. She floated a few inches in the air, and her wings flapped ever harder to lift the black haired teenager off the floor. She groaned in annoyance and grumbled about the training procedures that Aqualad did. His bulging muscles were not helping his cause right now.

She strained even harder to get him up and instantly flopped over, her face meeting the floor. She growled at this mistake and vowed to make a day for the boy wonder a living hell.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Cyborg twiddled his mechanic thumbs at just stared at the pair in extreme boredom. He couldn't do anything but watch, and he hated being the useless bystander that witnessed events that happened outside Beast Boy's vortex of a mind. At points Beast Boy would groan softly or mumble something inaudible even to Cyborg's heightened sense hearing. Beast Boy broke out into sweat at one point, and gave out a cry. Not once did he awaken though, despite these constant bickering. Cyborg got a towel from a rack above him and wiped off the beads that had formed at the green kid's brow. Cyborg couldn't do anything. He felt like a let down to the team, not doing anything while everyone else was probably risking their lives at that given time...

Raven had not once moved from her levitating position, she seemed almost a statue at how still she was. Her flaring white eyes never flickered, nothing ever twitched. It was as if she wasn't there, only her body was left in a vegetated state...

Little did Cyborg know that that was really the case.

He gave a long sigh and went to get some pillows. He knew that when Raven's concentration finally snapped, she would most likely fall to the ground in exhaustion. He was going to make sure it was a comforting and inviting fall.

As he left, three black birds swooped down and landed on different parts of Raven's upper region. One on top of her head, the other two rested upon her shoulders.

"_What is she doing?" Lorak_ asked in pure curiosity, confused and astounded by the actions of the woman that was to be their savior.

"_She appears to be in some sort of silent state." Karik_ cawed in reply. He shifted and slightly tilted his head. "_But I do not understand why._"

"_She is helping him." Merlov_ interjected. "_I can tell from her body positions."_ He used his beck to point out Raven's left hand resting on Beast Boy gently.

"_What should we do? We have to help out somehow, for we do need her later..." Karik_ muttered, deep in thought. Silence enshrouded the leading ravens of its clan.

"_We sing it." Merlov _whispered gently.

"_Sing what?" Lorak _questioned quietly, in no more than a whisper.

"_The Battle and The Raging Wars."_

_To Be Continued..._

Author's Note: Yay, another chapter done! I enjoy writing these, I like having several different mini plots occurring at once (as you can tell). I must ask you all this: Is it true that we can't reply or answer to the reviews that we are given anymore? I received this email and thought it might possibly be serious, as something like this has never been pulled on before... But I don't believe it, as they haven't posted it on the latest News section, and they always say if something that serious has happened. So tell me what you think of that too in your post. Now that I've finished this chapter at 4:40am now (see, I take the time to make sure it's worth reading) I will go to bed and bid thee a good night or good day, whichever is right for you. Please review!


End file.
